I could say a lot about the quality of education: the lack of a challenge, the boringness of the one-size-fits-all curriculum, etc. But boredom isn&#x27;t that big of a deal. I made up for that by studying what I wanted to outside of school, instead of doing homework. Even with the vindictive teachers that made homework 30% of the final grade, it was still cakewalk to pass their classes without doing a single assignment.<p>The real root of the reason school was a living hell for me was the bullying. We all like to tell kids that &quot;the teachers will help you&quot;, but they either don&#x27;t care or feel they can&#x27;t do anything. Either way, the net effect is they are completely useless. We tell kids, &quot;it builds character!&quot;, but that&#x27;s nonsense. I don&#x27;t care if it <i>is</i> the secret to my success, I&#x27;d rather be average today than to have experienced a tormented childhood. Those were formative years, and those scars run deep.<p>The worst mistake I ever made was deciding I wouldn&#x27;t be a part of that Lord of the Flies bullshit. I kept thinking it&#x27;d get better as we got older, but it only got much worse. I never stuck up for myself, never learned how to fight, never worked out to become stronger to defend myself. And that&#x27;s easily my biggest source of regret. Every day my mind recalls terrible memories from those days, and I find myself constantly thinking, &quot;if only I had fought back here or done this there ...&quot;<p>Bullying mostly targets the gifted, but it would help everyone if we took it seriously, instead of just saying, &quot;well I went through it and lived; so the next generation can too!&quot;<p>Also, it&#x27;s bordering on a different topic, but bullying very much extends to the home as well. Abusive parents, siblings, etc. Some kids have literally no escape from it for 18+ years.