Kindergarten years to be exact. So here goes …

1. I was a brave little girl on my first day at school.
   I even sang a song in front of the class proudly and received praise from my teacher, Mrs.E. That’s because all parents were allowed to stay in the classroom on our first day.
2. I was not a brave little girl on my second day at school.
   Mrs. E tried to pry my fingers off mom’s hand while I cried and screamed my heart out, much to the amazement of my classmates. That’s because all parents were not allowed to stay in the classroom from the second day onwards.
3. I clung to Mrs. E’s skirt on every recess.
   School was a big and scary place to me at that time. And since my mom couldn’t be there, naturally I chose someone else to cling to and it was Mrs. E. I followed her practically everywhere by grabbing her skirt (it was light brown skirt, the teacher’s uniform) except perhaps to the ladies. During recess she usually chatted with the fellow teachers near the playground and one day when I was unaware and let go of her skirt, she hid behind the sandbox to tease me. I was a kid who would turn any event into a perfect excuse to start crying and this was no exception when I turned around and found out she’s not there. Well, Mrs. E, you were a sweet and nice teacher, but don’t you ever do that to any kid who cling to your skirt. It’s very frightening, you know.
4. There was a tell-tale sign that I’m a person who cannot say ‘no’.
   Our task for that day was to paste a diamond-shaped paper onto a piece of blank paper and draw a bee out of it. So I carefully drew its head, two cute wings, legs, arms (??), body stripes, and purposely left drawing the bee’s face last. The bell rang. One of my friend walked to me on her way to the teacher’s desk and, upon seeing my drawing unfinished, grabbed a black crayon and said “Here, let me do it for you”. Then she drew two eyes and a mouth on my bee. My pretty, beautiful bee. The eyes were not symmetrical, the mouth askew to one side, it was the ugliest face I have ever seen. I wanted to cry, I really hated her, but I didn’t say anything.
5. The day my sister stood by me. Literally.
   The inner yard of the kindergarten was paved with big slabs of natural rocks. One day, after detaching myself from Mrs. E’s skirt, I was walking there and knocked down by a bunch of boys goofing and running around. I remember crying while still sitting/squatting/sprawling (??) on the ground and then my sister stood there beside me. She did nothing else, just standing. Until now I still don’t know why she’s there but it’s good to know to know that my sis stood by me.
   PS. I vaguely remember she picked her nose while standing there but it could also be my imagination.

It’s amazing that I still can remember things (mostly involving crying) from more than 20 years ago but forget simple stuff on daily basis.