<p>“You were placed in a situation where it would have been very easy – very easy – to rise to the top of your class and stand out.”</p>
<p>@BDM Not nessicarily, If someone is surrounded by lazy people with absurd credos, then that someone will be such a person. Look at it this way, if someone grew up in a Japanese speaking community, then that person will most likely speak Japanese. This same concept explains why the middle east is predominately Muslim, why Hispanics tend to be more “touchy”, why the Chinese value fidel piety, etc. Studies show that people tend to conform to their environment. And that is exactly what I did. And I agree with your notion that it would be easy to top the school that I went to. Looking back, being the Valedictorian of such a school would be a total cakewalk. But I didn’t want to be a “loser” or “dork”. I wanted to fit in. So there, I explained why the situation was out of my control. </p>
<p>I agree with you, its now or never. And I’m making efforts to improve myself, that why I’m on this forum. But when you ascribe my high-school insouciance to be my fault, I definitely cannot agree.</p>