My parents weren’t wealthy. For much of my childhood, my father worked in construction, which meant moving from one place to another. And when the family moved, so did I.
By the time I left school, I had attended thirteen different schools in eleven years. Thirteen schools!
I would have loved to grow up in one place, surrounded by the same friends, sharing memories that stretched from childhood into adulthood. I sometimes wonder how different my life might have been.
Instead, there were new schools, new teachers, new classmates and new surroundings. Looking back, I wonder whether those changes helped make me an explorer — someone curious about new places, people and things to learn.
Who knows? Perhaps it even contributed to my belief that we can never stop learning. I cannot say for certain. But that curiosity has stayed with me.
Eventually I left school and began working. The next chapter took me to a paper factory in Springs, where I made a decision that changed the direction of my life.