I grew up hoping/believing that if I got good grades/did well in school, people would notice me.
My older brother got lousy grades but was sociable and popular.
Guess which of us stood out.
Near brainiac/Average (40% failure and under). Perhaps A's and B's
Top student (no failure or very little. Mostly A's)
I couldn't really tell the difference between these two, so chose both; I excelled gradeswise, but aside from that, didn't really stand out. I. e., I didn't fail as much as 40%, but I also didn't participate in any extracurricular things, so I don't think I could technically be called a "top student."
ONE time I got a C-...it was this weird class called "Quest" and I didn't even understand what the point of it was. I didn't raise my hand enough, so the teacher criticized me for this. Thus, I started raising my hand more. And then she wouldn't call on me. And therefore I got a C-. :roll
I got a C or C+ in a mathematics class once...my worst subject. To be honest I'm surprised I did as well as I did in math classes, considering that I can't even do simple math in my head.
Aside from those two incidents, I got A's and B's; and aside from the C-, I was on the honor roll my entire time in school (K-12).
But that was all I was good at. I did not stand out in any other way. And since there were honor roll students who actually DID stand out, that means I didn't stand out, period. :/
Tl;dr, I guess I flew below the radar.
Loner/bully victim/Quiet one/no friends (orjust anything of that sort)
Geek/teachers pet/smarty pants (in any form)
Personalitywise, I was more of a geek/nerd/smartypants--I always, ALWAYS, carried either a book or a folder of my writings around with me, and some class lessons like ancient history and the rules of writing were basic knowledge to me (and teachers did tend to like me, though mostly because I was quiet and well behaved--like I said, I didn't particularly stand out, and I didn't try to curry favor to become a "teacher's pet"). BUT, I never got much of a chance to display my nerdiness to others, so I feel I came across as more of just an awkward weirdo. (Strangely, I seemed to have a small reputation as a good writer, when nobody had ever read anything I wrote. Not even when I'd offered them the chance. :| )
I did have a few friends at various points (and at various points I was alone), BUT, none of them fit into any particular clique or group. (There were never any noticeable cliques in any schools I attended, so this phenomenon was unknown to me. Maybe my schools were too small for cliques?) My friends were my "security blanket" who made me feel free to express myself within my limited capabilities, and in their company I could be downright raucous and obnoxious; but when they weren't around, I was very quiet, timid, and withdrawn, and often ridiculed/teased by students who didn't like me.
I was never overtly bullied...my "bullies" were quite subtle about it, which meant it went unnoticed, even when I tried to bring it to the attention of the guidance counselor, who promised to help. Nothing was ever done; I had to change my routine (and nearly end up late for class) just to avoid some of my bullies. And I was rejected/ignored/overlooked far more than I was ridiculed.
If people are just ignoring you, nobody thinks they're doing anything that can damage your self-esteem. And so you sit and become invisible, and fly below the radar, even though it's not what you intended. :/
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To this day I'm shocked when an old teacher or especially an old classmate whom I never really interacted with actually remembers me. How could they? I never did anything worth remembering. :|
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Sorry this is so long. :blush