I was that kid growing up. Except my parents were awesome.

I was homeschooled by my mother, so I got to avoid the bulk of social interaction. Which is great because I was constantly bullied in what little social interaction I did get. Terrible at soccer. Or any physical sports... my “team mates” asked me to harass the other team since that was something I could manage.

I was also super active and wouldn’t sit still for long. Probably would’ve sucked if I had to do that in school, lol.

I caused a fair bit of damage at home, but my parents were forgiving. And after middle school, I took classes at a junior college in leu of having my mom try and teach me calculus or algebra.

Games were the one community I could find people to relate to, other than my parents. People who would show up for me, work with me, teach me things, and learn from me. People who were more mature than anyone I’ve ever met since.

Life turned out fantastic for me. I got a BS and MS in engineering and work as an engineer, something I’d dreamt of since middle school. No drugs at any point, except copious amounts of caffeine. Still play a shit ton of games. I’ve made a few mistakes along the way. Missed out on some fun stuff. Overall I’m happy.

I hope the public and private education system is giving the next generation the kinds of opportunities that I had. I fear it isn’t. But for now, here is some hope. It doesn’t turn out poorly for everyone. I exist. There’s a saying “where there is a will, there is a way”... we’ll, there’s a way. Is there enough will?