What were you like as a child?

Funny you should ask. . . I often reflect on how my life journey has taken shape.  As a child I was very introverted, quiet and shy in most situations.  There were a few select friends that I would open up to more than others but as a child there was no one that I was totally free to be myself with, to tell anything and everything to.  I withheld and bottled up a lot of emotions.
By withholding and bottling up so much of what I felt. . .love, fear, the need to be held, to hold, to talk, to scream. . . I developed migraine headaches and a victim mentality that landed me in the hospital quite often as I suffered from sprained ankles, broken wrist, damaged knee, dislocated shoulder, etc.
And yet despite the suffering and pain, there was always a glimmer of light that keep me pushing forward.
Despite the drugs and alcohol abuse I grew up around, despite the eventual gang activity that cropped up in Pittsburgh, despite many of the possible negative influences that could have claimed me. . .
There was always the spark inside that said I could be a catalyst to change the world, to help, to save. . . there was something always reminding me that I was EXTRA-ordinary and that I could help unlock the power in those I touch.
I did not really break free from those shackles until I reached my late 20s and early 30s.

As a child I had a powerful imagination and insight, I was creative, I was an artist, a natural leader (despite being shy), I was intelligent and studious.  I had a great sense of humor and loved to laugh and make others laugh.  I wanted to be a superhero and make a difference...