maybe she has a point

"----- is a very capable boy. he generally prefers to work by himself on quiet, individual activities. when he does participate in group activities, he always tends to select the same children to work with. accordingly, in the future, i would like to see him working with a variety of children at different times."

my mother brought over a couple of my kindergarten report cards the other day. back then they were known as progress reports. the pages were mostly filled with highly articulate observations on the inner workings and outer limits of yours truly. but it was the above comment prepared by my senior kindergarten teacher that immediately caught my attention. it caught my attention because about a week back, a colleague and i were engaged in a highly animated discussion on the nature of personality and the ability of human beings to "change" their characters. essentially my co-worker's argument, one frequently put forward by psychologists in the field, was that once a child reaches the age of six or seven, his/her essential personality traits are more or less formed. and by "formed" i assume my colleague meant "fixed."

now following the debate, i still had some doubts as to the veracity of this hypothesis. but when i accidentally stumbled across the above comment in my hand-written report card, it gave me pause to at least reconsider my stance on the matter.

how come? well, because even today, at the ripe old age of --, at the heart of my personality lies a desire to avoid the judgments of others by escaping into a world of isolation or a world of familiarity.

and according to at least one kindergarten teacher in the old north york board of education, i was already exhibiting these proclivities at the tender young age of five.

"will you just shut up and listen to the song, please!" - anonymous

the last song on the last day of listening class circa the summer of 2010