4 ms·

After hearing enough of those kinds of stories, middle schools in America just sounds like a really scary place to be. Growing up in China in the 90s, I don't r

After hearing enough of those kinds of stories, middle schools in America just sounds like a really scary place to be. Growing up in China in the 90s, I don't remember being scared all the time for being socially excluded and bullied despite being a computer nerd. After moving to US as adult, one thing I found really challenging is navigating social environments. It is not until I started viewing it through lenses of Hollywood school dramas, some of the social dynamics start to make sense. I am amazed how stark the contrast is between being perceived as "popular" as opposed to a nerd.

cr0sh 8y ago
Yeah - I both keep tabs and help (mostly advice comments) to my neighbors on Nextdoor. I am constantly dismayed at not only the fact that many seem to have an education somewhere at the high school level, but also that they still seem to crave a ton of drama and other similar "schoolyard" socialization habits. It would be humorous if it weren't for the fact that I live here with them; but that was the choice I made - I deliberately chose to own an older home that cost less than what I could afford, in a decidedly blue-collar neighborhood with no HOA so I could work on my vehicles or do other "loud fabrication activities" that I couldn't in another neighborhood. Part of me, though, wishes I had taken the plunge and had a home built out in the boonies. For the most part, my neighbors are nice and thoughtful, but there's a certain segment among them that I wish would just "grow up" already.
- Broken_Hippo 8y ago
  I hate this! I had a tough time in school. I had a teacher tell me how much she didn't like me in 6th grade, and had few friends. The girl with the locker next to me threatened physical violence from time to time, but it seemed she wasn't willing to throw the first punch. We moved in 8th grade, where the new school decided I was lesbian and didn't deserve to have friends. I ate alone most of the year. (They were half right, but I didn't realize at the time). I had hope this would go away when I got older. I was promised this. Instead what I found was that it was just as bad or worse lest you fit in and just do the "adult" thing. It is now years later and I live in a different country. It took that move to ever feel like I'm accepted by folks in general.

cr0sh 8y ago

Yeah - I both keep tabs and help (mostly advice comments) to my neighbors on Nextdoor. I am constantly dismayed at not only the fact that many seem to have an education somewhere at the high school level, but also that they still seem to crave a ton of drama and other similar "schoolyard" socialization habits. It would be humorous if it weren't for the fact that I live here with them; but that was the choice I made - I deliberately chose to own an older home that cost less than what I could afford, in a decidedly blue-collar neighborhood with no HOA so I could work on my vehicles or do other "loud fabrication activities" that I couldn't in another neighborhood. Part of me, though, wishes I had taken the plunge and had a home built out in the boonies. For the most part, my neighbors are nice and thoughtful, but there's a certain segment among them that I wish would just "grow up" already.

Broken_Hippo 8y ago
I hate this! I had a tough time in school. I had a teacher tell me how much she didn't like me in 6th grade, and had few friends. The girl with the locker next to me threatened physical violence from time to time, but it seemed she wasn't willing to throw the first punch. We moved in 8th grade, where the new school decided I was lesbian and didn't deserve to have friends. I ate alone most of the year. (They were half right, but I didn't realize at the time). I had hope this would go away when I got older. I was promised this. Instead what I found was that it was just as bad or worse lest you fit in and just do the "adult" thing. It is now years later and I live in a different country. It took that move to ever feel like I'm accepted by folks in general.