--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was a completely normal kid, the school…" description: "\"I was a completely normal kid, the school nerd. In Year 8 and 9 I got picked on. I was a freak- no one understood me. I was the kid who wanted to be ab..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4af/darren-hayes-11308_artistic_i-was-a-completely-normal-kid-the-school_172276.jpg" --- # I was a completely normal kid, the school nerd. In Year 8… ![“I was a completely normal kid, the school nerd. In Year 8 and 9 I got picked on. I was a freak- no one understood me. I was the kid who wanted to be abducted by ET. Then all the losers left in Year 10. But I was quite good at school, and very artistic. In Year 11 it turned around. I became one of…” quote by Darren Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4af/darren-hayes-11308_artistic_i-was-a-completely-normal-kid-the-school_172276.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4af/darren-hayes-11308_artistic_i-was-a-completely-normal-kid-the-school_172276.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4af/darren-hayes-11308_artistic_i-was-a-completely-normal-kid-the-school_172276.jpg) > “I was a completely normal kid, the school nerd. In Year 8 and 9 I got picked on. I was a freak- no one understood me. I was the kid who wanted to be abducted by ET. Then all the losers left in Year 10. But I was quite good at school, and very artistic. In Year 11 it turned around. I became one of the coolest kids in school. I was in school musicals- the kid who could sing. It was bizzare. I loved school. It's an amazing little world. The rules inside the school are different from the outside world.” [Darren Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-hayes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A reflection on personal transformation from outsider to celebrated performer, highlighting the fluidity of social identity. **In simple terms:** Changing social status can happen quickly and unexpectedly. Key Takeaway Embrace growth and stay authentic despite changing perceptions. Themes identity growth social dynamics Mood reflective hopeful Type narrative inspirational When to use this quote - school life - artistic pursuits - peer acceptance - personal development Key Concepts self‑discovery acceptance Questions to Reflect On - How do you stay true to yourself when others' opinions shift? - What role does creativity play in personal resilience? A Different Perspective Popularity can be fleeting and dependent on external validation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artistic/) [Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids/) [Kids In School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids-in-school/) [Loser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loser/) [Nerd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nerd/) [Outside world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outside-world/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [In high school I was a nerd and very academic. On the weekends, instead of going out and partying, I’d close myself in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troian-bellisario/in-high-school-i-was-a-nerd-and-very-academic-on-the-weekends-instead/) [Troian Bellisario](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troian-bellisario/) > [I always thought I wasn't cool enough in school, I was in the 'nerd' crew. I actually enjoyed studying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-whitmore/i-always-thought-i-wasn-t-cool-enough-in-school-i-was-in-the-nerd/) [Laura Whitmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-whitmore/) > [I have been a goof my whole life. I wasn't really the popular girl in school and didn't have any boyfriends in high school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malin-akerman/i-have-been-a-goof-my-whole-life-i-wasn-t-really-the-popular-girl-in/) [Malin Akerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malin-akerman/) > [Ive never been this happy before I'm in my last year of school I have the most amazing friends and most perfect boyfriend everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talyiah-ngariki/ive-never-been-this-happy-before-i-m-in-my-last-year-of-school-i-have/) [Talyiah Ngariki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talyiah-ngariki/) > [Once the kids are in school, it's amazing what you can do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-schlessinger/once-the-kids-are-in-school-it-s-amazing-what-you-can-do/) [Laura Schlessinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-schlessinger/) > [Middle school's amazing. It is extraordinary. An extraordinary time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scott/middle-school-s-amazing-it-is-extraordinary-an-extraordinary-time/) [Michael Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scott/) > [There's so much I'm interested in that I didn't discover in high school. For 'The Amazing Spider-Man', because Gwen is a scientist, we went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-stone/there-s-so-much-i-m-interested-in-that-i-didn-t-discover-in-high/) [Emma Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-stone/) > [If you ever have a kid who doesn't know what to do, stick him in art school. It's amazing what evolves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/if-you-ever-have-a-kid-who-doesn-t-know-what-to-do-stick-him-in-art/) [Ridley Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/) > [“Being an atheist had never stopped me from enjoying the ritual, community singing, gay friendly and general do-unto-others-as-you-would-have-them-do-unto-you sentiment of the school’s chapel services,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annabelle-gurwitch/being-an-atheist-had-never-stopped-me-from-enjoying-the-ritual/) [Annabelle Gurwitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annabelle-gurwitch/) > [I was a huge theater nerd when I was younger, so I was in a bunch of school musicals - Working,' South Pacific,' Fiddler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/i-was-a-huge-theater-nerd-when-i-was-younger-so-i-was-in-a-bunch-of/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [When I was 17, I worked at a bagel shop - I ate so many! I was also in all the school musicals, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-ushkowitz/when-i-was-17-i-worked-at-a-bagel-shop-i-ate-so-many-i-was-also-in/) [Jenna Ushkowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-ushkowitz/) > [I love singing! I was a musical theater girl in high school. We were always singing and dancing around, and just doing little community…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-lowes/i-love-singing-i-was-a-musical-theater-girl-in-high-school-we-were/) [Katie Lowes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-lowes/) > [I was obsessed with being popular when I was in high school and never achieved it. There's photos from our high school musicals and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mindy-kaling/i-was-obsessed-with-being-popular-when-i-was-in-high-school-and-never/) [Mindy Kaling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mindy-kaling/) > [ I loved doing school musicals \[as a kid\], I even started at an early age to write little plays for the school to perform.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ogilvie/i-loved-doing-school-musicals-as-a-kid-i-even-started-at-an-early-age/) [George Ogilvie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ogilvie/) > [I guess my performance at school was doing school musicals, so I was a knight as well at the back of the stage in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-lilley/i-guess-my-performance-at-school-was-doing-school-musicals-so-i-was-a/) [Chris Lilley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-lilley/) ## More by Darren Hayes > [People dont get married by accident and they dont get divorced by accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-hayes/people-dont-get-married-by-accident-and-they-dont-get-divorced-by/) [Darren Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-hayes/) > [People didnt expect pop music to be authentic. There were a lot of manufactured bands - of which I love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-hayes/people-didnt-expect-pop-music-to-be-authentic-there-were-a-lot-of/) [Darren Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-hayes/) > [I don't want to be a gay or a straight artist. I don't make gay records - I make records.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-hayes/i-don-t-want-to-be-a-gay-or-a-straight-artist-i-don-t-make-gay/) [Darren Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-hayes/) > [I think of all emotions as just energy. If you see yourself separate from your thoughts, you can choose which ones you give meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-hayes/i-think-of-all-emotions-as-just-energy-if-you-see-yourself-separate/) [Darren Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-hayes/) > [Im a night owl so I tend to do a lot of my disconnecting past midnight. I love the feeling when the whole world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-hayes/im-a-night-owl-so-i-tend-to-do-a-lot-of-my-disconnecting-past/) [Darren Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-hayes/) > [When you hit someone back with understanding or love it stops the cycle of friction. Its not always easy to do, but when youre…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-hayes/when-you-hit-someone-back-with-understanding-or-love-it-stops-the/) [Darren Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-hayes/) > [Darren Hayes is an artist. Im a singer, I write songs, but the things I do have always been bigger than me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-hayes/darren-hayes-is-an-artist-im-a-singer-i-write-songs-but-the-things-i/) [Darren Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-hayes/) > [I look at this world we live in now where someone like Lil Nas X can push forward his true self, full of pride…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-hayes/i-look-at-this-world-we-live-in-now-where-someone-like-lil-nas-x-can/) [Darren Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-hayes/) > [If you want me to be straight, gay, into monkeys, dating Kylie, whatever, I'm happy for people to project whatever onto me!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-hayes/if-you-want-me-to-be-straight-gay-into-monkeys-dating-kylie-whatever/) [Darren Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-hayes/) > [I was such an innocent and loving child. I lived in a dream world, I was obsessed with 'Star Wars', 'E.T', Michael Jackson and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-hayes/i-was-such-an-innocent-and-loving-child-i-lived-in-a-dream-world-i/) [Darren Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-hayes/) > [I started singing in my first band in 1992 so I'm coming up to 20 years in this business. That's a long time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-hayes/i-started-singing-in-my-first-band-in-1992-so-i-m-coming-up-to-20/) [Darren Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-hayes/) > [When I was 10 I used to walk around shopping centres and go, "Oh, they've recognised me!" And I would think, "hold on, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-hayes/when-i-was-10-i-used-to-walk-around-shopping-centres-and-go-oh-they/) [Darren Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-hayes/) > [I think anyone who creates anything, whether it's yourself as a writer, anyone - when you finish something, it's gone from being just your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-hayes/i-think-anyone-who-creates-anything-whether-it-s-yourself-as-a-writer/) [Darren Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-hayes/) > [There are reasons why musical relationships are magical and those same reasons are sometimes why they cant last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-hayes/there-are-reasons-why-musical-relationships-are-magical-and-those/) [Darren Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-hayes/) > [I would let my child do whatever made their heart sing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-hayes/i-would-let-my-child-do-whatever-made-their-heart-sing/) [Darren Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-hayes/) [Explore all 60 Darren Hayes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-hayes/) ## More Artistic quotes > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [We don't make glamorous movies today. Everything now is very realistic, artistic - and depressing. When is the last time you you saw a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-head/we-don-t-make-glamorous-movies-today-everything-now-is-very-realistic/) [Edith Head](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-head/) > [Unfortunately, moral beauty in art - like physical beauty in a person - is extremely perishable. It is nowhere so durable as artistic or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/unfortunately-moral-beauty-in-art-like-physical-beauty-in-a-person-is/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Ideal for the child and society in the best of times, Rudolf Steiner's brilliant process of education is critically needed and profoundly relevant now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/ideal-for-the-child-and-society-in-the-best-of-times-rudolf-steiner-s/) [Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/) > [In a personal way, to do with family and the father-son relationship, in a kind of artistic way with regard to him being an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/in-a-personal-way-to-do-with-family-and-the-father-son-relationship/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [It took me a long time to get to where I am, but I am here and it is everywhere I want to be.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princess-nokia/it-took-me-a-long-time-to-get-to-where-i-am-but-i-am-here-and-it-is/) [Princess Nokia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/princess-nokia/) > [When we idealize the real, we sacrifice to artistic fancy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fuseli/when-we-idealize-the-real-we-sacrifice-to-artistic-fancy/) [Henry Fuseli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fuseli/) > [For now, I'm supposing that all movements are equal, which they're not, except in this respect: that none of them gives a damn about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfrid-sheed/for-now-i-m-supposing-that-all-movements-are-equal-which-they-re-not/) [Wilfrid Sheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfrid-sheed/) > [At a time when painting itself often seems to be a threatened, even despised, form of artistic activity, Andrew Salgado emerges as a dazzlingly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-lucie-smith/at-a-time-when-painting-itself-often-seems-to-be-a-threatened-even/) Edward Lucie-Smith > [I think once the artistic world of the type designer merged with the scientific world of the computer programmer, you began to see this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bierut/i-think-once-the-artistic-world-of-the-type-designer-merged-with-the/) [Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/) > [Abstract Expressionism was invented by New York drunks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-new-york-drunks/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [Writers and musicians know well the importance of extensive reading for successful writing or extensive listening for musical composition. Likewise, visual artists... understand that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laseau/writers-and-musicians-know-well-the-importance-of-extensive-reading/) [Paul Laseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laseau/) > [Being a Catholic, I was drawn to the mystery of the Latin and the smoke and the mirrors and all of that. That part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sarandon/being-a-catholic-i-was-drawn-to-the-mystery-of-the-latin-and-the/) [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) > [It is, of course, a luxury to create art and, on top of this, to insist on expressing one's own artistic opinion. Nothing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beckmann/it-is-of-course-a-luxury-to-create-art-and-on-top-of-this-to-insist/) [Max Beckmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beckmann/) > [Niches set back in the walls contained polished marble statues of entwined bodies. Will looked away from them hastily, and then back. It wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/niches-set-back-in-the-walls-contained-polished-marble-statues-of/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) [Browse all 1,574 Artistic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artistic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was a completely normal kid, the school nerd. In Year 8 and 9 I got picked on. I was a freak- no one understood me. I was the kid who wanted to be abducted by ET. Then all the losers left in Year 10. But I was quite good at school, and very artistic. In Year 11 it turned around. I became one of the coolest kids in school. I was in school musicals- the kid who could sing. It was bizzare. I loved school. It's an amazing little world. 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