The first half of 2003 was quite a dark period for me and my family. I started to have difficulty breathing and felt very sick. This caused my parents to become super worried, so they rushed me to a children's hospital. After the doctors examined my present state, they announced to my parents with a somewhat pessimistic tone, "Sir, ma'am, your daughter is suffering from a severe bout of asthma. Unless you find a remedy right away, she might not be able to survive." However, that didn't stop them from trying to cure my illness. After leaving the hospital, we went to a nearby drugstore. There, they asked one of the pharmacists if they have any asthma remidies in stock. The pharmacist then found a nebulizer, which is a device that can improve breathing problems. At first, I felt uncomfortable while they used it on me, but I knew that it was for my own health and survival. As the days passed, my condition started to improve. My father also ordered some imported antibiotics from the internet to help with the healing process. These antibiotics actually tasted pleasant, and they had no problems with me whining about them. After a few months, my asthma finally disappeared, and I haven't had another attack ever since. In September, I started school. Now, this is where my parents, particularly my mother, began to notice that I have a really quirky and unique personality. Even the teacher and my classmates became aware of this. I wasn't interested in the group activities and singing, I'd rather explore the school grounds and browse the library. I even talked with the elderly principal several times! Also, there were some instances where I would blurt out the answer to the question the teacher was asking the students in a round table during quiz time, and my response was actually correct. I was reading the books in the library during this activity. The question that the teacher was asking was, "T for...?" I blurted, "TARANTULA!" This caused the teacher and my classmates to become puzzled and wonder where the voice came from. After a while, the teacher said, "That is the correct answer." Still, they were curious why I wasn't present. Despite my disinterest in the group activities, I did manage to make a friend during my time there. Her name was Patch. She was so sweet. She followed me everywhere I went and smiled at me often. Sadly, this friendship was short-lived. We parted ways after the school year ended the following year. I didn't have any new friends since that time. Anyways, during those days where I would have homework, I was introduced to the computer for the first time. Once, my mother caught me while I was using it because she saw lots of files popping out on the screen. She became very panicky, while I was just chilled. When she asked me what I was doing, I simply told her, "Oh, I'm just checking the memory." Everything eventually went back to normal. I surprised her yet again when one day, she saw me reading the sentences aloud in the more complex stages of my school exercises. She said, "Wow, Jackie! You already know how to read!" It soon made sense to her why I was so bored with the earlier exercises. She was still walking in the letter sounds part, while I jumped to saying sentences aloud. I was also awarded the "Bookworm Kid" certificate during the school's year-end awards banquet.
