Comment by HillOBeans

This. Much of what Paul recounts is what I experienced in school, particularly in Junior High. The problem is, by the time I got to High School, my grades had begun to suffer because of my anxiety over the bullying, and I never really recovered my academic prowess until college. But that prevented me from getting some scholarships, and probably put me on a different career path that I'm still regretting today. When my focus shifted to popularity over academics, things did improve, and the bullying subsided. Part of me wishes I could put my adult self back into my adolescent body and redo those years with the perspective I have now.