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I was deeply touched while reading this piece - I felt that Powell was speaking almost directly to me. I was one of those children who suffered from a learning
by pvnick 13y ago
I was deeply touched while reading this piece - I felt that Powell was speaking almost directly to me. I was one of those children who suffered from a learning challenge. I had a very strong case of ADHD, and I'll tell you what I stuck out like a sore thumb. I was ostracized by both teachers and peers. In my isolation I found a sense of control in software development.
During my adolescence I found the anarchist cookbook. I used to read through it, fascinated with its ideology, and sometimes building various explosives and weapons. In high school I experimented with drugs and got very close to flunking out. I got in trouble with the law more times than I'd like to admit. I was very angry and paranoid, and the idiotic policies put in place during the Bush years had a lot to do with that.
Nowadays I'm a completely different person. I'm deeply religious, I try and go out of my way to say kind words and help others, and I'm a much happier person. I'm about to graduate with a degree in biochemistry from a great college. I believe the world would be a much better place if people would try harder to understand and love each other and show mercy. Reading this piece by one of my childhood mentors very much evoked a feeling of vindication.
- wil421 13y ago> I had a very strong case of ADHD, and I'll tell you what I stuck out like a sore thumb. Yup > During my adolescence I found the anarchist cookbook. I used to read through it, fascinated with its ideology, and sometimes building various explosives and weapons. Yup > I got in trouble with the law more times than I'd like to admit. Yup > I was very angry and paranoid Still fighting the anger I have from no where. I am not paranoid though the Snowden stuff is making me somewhat. > I try and go out of my way to say kind words and help others, and I'm a much happier person. These are things I try to do otherwise I find myself acting ill towards people. I am not sure which hit me more the article or your comment. Glad to see there are others who acted the way I did in my younger days and are striving to become a better person everyday. This past May I finally graduated from a decent regional college with a degree in Information Systems and now have an awesome job doing what I love.
- pvnick 13y agoI am so happy to have read your comment. The Snowden stuff hit me pretty hard as well, and I actually organized my town's rally for the Restore the Fourth demonstrations. If you ever want to talk and get to know each other, my email is in my profile, please feel free to reach out :)
- fossuser 13y agoI still am unable to understand the connection to religion.
- pvnick 13y agoI was intentionally vague on that point to avoid controversy distracting from my point, but if you're curious, I found faith in Jesus Christ (I became Catholic) and I fully believe that it was by the grace of God that I was brought out of my downward spiral and restored to peace and happiness.
- Lambdanaut 13y agoOff on a tangent here, but I'm curious if you're willing to divulge, does your religious bend ever conflict with you being a biochemistry major, and if so how do you resolve the conflictions?
- pvnick 13y agoThat's actually at the very core in why I went into biochemistry (aside from a naive belief in the triviality of curing cancer and the abundance of nobel prizes). In studying biochemistry I'm able to see how the math and the physics and the chemistry become biology. That is, I can actually know how life works and comes into being. I'll tell you what, God is the ultimate programmer. My studies have only worked to strengthen my faith.
- maroonblazer 13y agoLike the adulterer who professes to love his wife, you have some things to work out.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- jpwgarrison 13y agoI have found that once you grasp that they are not all biblical literalists you can get along fine with Christians. The literalists are noisier but I think a minority. I married into a Christian family and they value science and logic as much as anyone.