Recently I shared an old memory to one of my personal social media platforms. This included a picture of me not long after starting high school. It’s not a great photo and it’s before I had corrective surgery on my ears, as I couldn’t hear behind me as my ears stuck out.

I wasn’t diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder until I was forty years old and school wasn’t a place I really enjoyed as a result of those unknown issues, this topped with daily beatings, physical and emotional abuse from my so called peers. Made my teenage years a misery, that I’ve long since moved on from and made peace with things.

Over thirty years later some of the comments on my post were from kids I went to school with. Reminding me about some of the stupid mistakes and trouble I got up to from age 11-16. There’s two things that these people seem to conveniently forget.

The fact that after leaving high school, I’ve had a long and successful career in engineering, including science based, R&D & aerospace. Whilst also finding time to pen 5 anthologies of poetry and a well received book on witchcraft with my co author Daisy Burton. Means nothing to these guys.

I’m not the same shy, awkward little hobbit sized little bastard I was back then. Life changes, evolves & moves forward. I’ve risen from the ashes of my past to become, a respectable member of society & a member of the gentlemen’s brotherhood or Freemasons. While those who we’re supposed to go on to big things in life seem to have rested on their laurels so to speak.

The moral of this tale is that we ALL make mistakes as children, we all do stupid things while we’re growing up, you show me someone who claims they didn’t & I’ll show them a liar. The true test of a person’s character is whether or not 20-30 years down the line they’ve learnt a lesson from these incidents. If not we’re doomed to repeat them until we do.

I guess even after 30 years high school never ends..!

Stay Safe X