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Chapter 1 Before I Became Selectively Mute (5)
1st-3rd grade (1)
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[Shy Child]
I was a shy child, and had few friends. Being physically weak, I wasn't good at sports. I was sometimes bullied by fellow pupils.
[Bright Side]
Soon after I entered the school, I encountered many difficulties, as I wrote earlier. But the worst was over. I gradually adjusted myself to the new environment. The bright side appeared.
I worried about my extremely poor arithmetic ability. So, I asked my parents to buy a drill in arithmetic. I solved many problems over and over again. In class I listened to my homeroom teacher's explanations seriously, and didn't forget to do my homework. Thanks to the constant effort, I got to be able to follow the class.
When I was a junior student, I gave full play to my abilities in art class. In the 1st grade, I draw animal pictures and that was awarded gold prize. In the 2nd grade, I made a mask of middle-aged man and that was awarded "Kowaide-shou" (the Fearful Mask Prize.)
I also gave full play to my abilities in playing recorder in music class. I played many compositions well which are difficult to play for junior students, such as "Edelweiss" or "Fuji-san" (Mount Fuji.)
And I got to be familiar with insect, because I read the insect book well which my parents bought for me. I was called "Doctor of Insect" by classmates and was slightly admired.
Even so, I was sometimes bullied.
(To be continued)
