I’ve told this story before, but I realize that it is an important part of my origin story, and so worth pondering from multiple perspectives. When I was in Kindergarten I had a crush on a beautiful girl in my class. To my delight, the teacher sat us right next to each other.
But one day in that same class we got a new student, a girl who was a problem child. She would often have fits of temper, and if you were sitting next to her, she would steal your scissors.
At some point the teacher moved my seat next to hers. When I asked why, the teacher explained that it had to be me.
It seems that I was the only kid in the class who was nice to the troubled student, and who never got into fights with her. I guess, with the wisdom of hindsight, that this was a great compliment.
But I’m still sad that I didn’t get to sit next to that other girl.