Mike Gillespie:  

any chance of friendly acquaintance let alone more considering my shyness, problems, ugliness and incompetence. I was too shy, fearful, awkward and nervous and unable to function much with anyone. But had the strong desires of teenage years which made it worse and drove me even more crazy. And to hide it all I tried to be a smart aleck and usually made a fool of myself and often hurt others too. How anyone put up with me, even when I was trying to be on my best behavior is only because of the kindness and goodwill of many of you and your efforts to also deal with the teenage years. After being so terribly destroyed and beaten down by my health, myself and so many others, I gradually recovered a little and things got better for me in the tenth grade. But essentially, the lights of my life had gone out. All I could do was try to accept and cope with my situation in high school and the best relationships I could find with others. I am deeply grateful that some would still have anything to do with me and that others who had hurt me gradually came around and help...Expand for more