The learning curve...

...in secondary school was still tending upwards but no longer as steep as in primary school. I was still one of the best students and therefore it was crystal clear that I tried the exams for grammar school. The test was more or less easy but nontheless I only scored an average rate of 4.6 (4.0 was the limit to get accepted). My mother didn't really care - she always said 4.0 is enough. Anything above is an encore.

But the thing with the 'encore' got harder and harder and soon became a real challenge. Here the shady side of the earlier easiness of learning showed up. I never really understood what it means 'to learn' and how much time it takes to memorize things. When the learning curve was tending upwards before it was now pointing down drastically and after the first few months at grammar school I was in serious trouble. I was really struggling with keeping up with the rest of the students and I was nearly kicked out but I kept fighting and in the end it turned out well and my marks got better again.

From a health point of view I was still doing well and felt 'normal'. I took part in sports, did orienteerings and 12-minute runs and I always finished with the middle of the field. But also in that case the shady side would follow soon because I didn't know what it was like to do physiotherapy on a daily basis. The older you get the harder it is to get a daily routine.

After four years of grammar school I passed the final exams, again with the extraordinary average of 4.6. :-) But again I thought to myself - "The important thing is that I passed.". I looked forward to my break because I decided to wait a year before I started university. Wait is probably not the correct expression - I wanted to work for a year and earn some money.