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Okay...my turn.
I'm just shy of turning 22.
I was born five weeks premature (had I been born "on time" I would've been born in the 90's, as it is I'm an 80's child) when I was born, there was a sever lack of incubators so I had to be transported to a hospital that was a 90 minute drive away. I was also, at one point in this ordeal, declared clinically dead. So I guess I could be a zombie.
When I was a child I was diagnosed with DAMP Syndrome. DAMP isn't often recognised as a condition outside of Sweden (I'm in the UK, though) although those who believe that it "exists" say it's quite common.
It's not such a matter that there may not be an actual condition, it's more that it's several conditions piled on top of eachother. Seperately it consists of ADHD, Dyspraxia (a condition that affects motor skills, so my balance and hand-writing are terrible.) and mild Autism (possibly Aspergers, but I'm not too sure) like many dyspraxics I'm also hyptonic which means I like muscle tone and so I'm rather weak, physically...I'm also only 5'4 so I'm rather weedy.
I don't like to use the term "suffering" from my condition or any negative conotations. I honestly believe it's no more an issue to me than my gender, race or sexuality. It's something I was born with and whilst I admit it has it's difficutlies (my aformentioned lack of physical prowess, my rather strained social skills and frequent, sometimes crippling, anxiety) it has it's strengths such as my rather unique perception of the world and my very strong focus on my interests (given this, I can become highly knowledgable on a subject of interest in a short space of time). I have the philosophy that I was born the way I am so I can't change it, so I'm not bitter about it.
I know there's a strong movement for a cure to such things, and whilst I don't begrudge people for wanting a cure (some are far worse off from such things than I am) I wouldn't have a cure if it were available because it'd probably change who I am almost completely.
My condition is also responsible for my strong social consciense. I was born into a politically left-wing family (my paternal great-grandfather was a trade-unionist) and that, mixed with my own experiences (my hatred of being made to feel inferior because I'm different) has made me passionate about equality. In short I'm a liberal/democratic-socialist and I describe my social views as a white, heterosexual male in favour of multiculturalism, gay rights and feminism.
I take immense pride in the fact that I started off in Special Education and have now ended up with a 2:1 Univeristy Degree.
In terms of religion, I'm agnostic. I slide more towards atheism, but I don't completely deny the idea that "something" exists as I don't see any concrete evidence on either side of the God debate. I also find that whilst I have strong dislike of having people "force-fed" religious ideas, I have an equal dislike for people who use atheism as a tool to sneer at what other people believe.
I was raised in a Protestant family of varying degrees of devoutness. Some relatives are atheists, some have a bible and celebrate Christian holidays in a secular manner, that's about their extent, whilst others regularly attend church and are rather devout. My first school (the special education school) was in an area where there is a high Pakistani population and, as such, I learnt in my early years about Islam and even celebrated Eid, the feast at the end of Ramadan. As a result of this and the Muslim friends I made in childhood and beyond I openly scoff at those who characterise Islam as completely violent or hateful.
I later attended Catholic school, like my sisters, not on religious grounds but simply because Catholic schools are often regarded to be of a high-standard. I always did well in school. My grades were good (except maths, I hate maths) and I was always looked upon as a well-behaved and polite student (I admit I'm something of a goody-two-shoes) but I don't really care for the rather dogmatic and conservative approach the schools had.
I don't drink (caffiene is my strongest vice) and I'm interested in travelling much of the world and learning about other cultures. I've seen a fair amount of Europe and I plan on, before I die, seeing all 50 states of America (So far, I've only seen Florida) and the 12 Candian provinces as well as travel East-Asia, more specifically Seoul, Hong Kong and Tokyo (probably all Japan, for that matter)
In social situations I can be very shy around strangers and often don't say much. However, after a while (a few weeks or so) I don't so much come out of my shell, rather I burst. I can become overly extroverted (probably my DAMP syndrome mixed with nerves) and go from completly shy silence to never shutting up. However, I dislike the usual social things that young men enjoy. I don't go out to clubs and usually only have walks at night-time (my fear of the outside world of night, mixed with my love of it's beauty is one big anti-Darwinian contradiction)
On the negative side, I'm often incredibly neurotic, socially awkward, overly naive in many ways and often find myself lacking in motivation and can be quite lazy (I'm one of those people who don't go mad from simply sitting doing nothing)
That's me putting the Nut into Nutshell.
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