Character formation begins in childhood, but from my experience, the strongest character formation occurs in adolescence.

As a teenager, I was quite introverted but not rebellious. I shifted from one who spent lots of time playing to a teenager who played less and focused more on my studies. While this shift was beneficial academically, it made me less skilled at building friendships and social connections.

I was easily offended, and that carried over into adulthood. Many of my friendships ended in cold wars. Friends ignored me, only came when they needed help with their lessons, but did not include me in their circles.

Now that I think about it, that attitude was detrimental to me.

Why couldn’t I have been more flexible?

I shouldn’t have been so extreme, even though they acted that way. After all, not all aspects of their personalities are bad. I could still find ways to benefit from them, such as enjoying their swimming pool, tasting their cakes, or having them give me a ride home. I realize now that I had very little playfulness in me, which made me vulnerable and easily hurt.

That feeling is still there today but has diminished significantly.

If I could go back in time, in addition to studying hard and developing my interests, I would also develop my ability to build friendships and networks. I would control my inhibiting emotional traits.