--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Not too many people know it, but when I…" description: "\"Not too many people know it, but when I was in junior high, I was a pretty tough kid and was the leader of a street gang. Well, OK, it was less a stree..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cce/w-bruce-cameron-4604_gang_not-too-many-people-know-it-but-when-i-w_1843468.jpg" --- # Not too many people know it, but when I was in junior… ![“Not too many people know it, but when I was in junior high, I was a pretty tough kid and was the leader of a street gang. Well, OK, it was less a street gang than an Ecology Club. We were pretty intimidating, though, and had our own meeting room until we got run out of there by a bunch of thugs…” quote by W. Bruce Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cce/w-bruce-cameron-4604_gang_not-too-many-people-know-it-but-when-i-w_1843468.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cce/w-bruce-cameron-4604_gang_not-too-many-people-know-it-but-when-i-w_1843468.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cce/w-bruce-cameron-4604_gang_not-too-many-people-know-it-but-when-i-w_1843468.jpg) > “Not too many people know it, but when I was in junior high, I was a pretty tough kid and was the leader of a street gang. Well, OK, it was less a street gang than an Ecology Club. We were pretty intimidating, though, and had our own meeting room until we got run out of there by a bunch of thugs from the Poetry Society.” [W. Bruce Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-bruce-cameron/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A teenage leader of a school club felt powerful, but rival groups displaced them, showing how identity and conflict evolve in adolescence. **In simple terms:** Youth leader faced rivalry and loss of status. Key Takeaway Recognize how power shifts and adapt. Themes identity conflict adolescence leadership Mood reflective nostalgic Type personal anecdote lesson When to use this quote - school clubs - youth activism - changing friendships Key Concepts social dynamics group identity peer pressure Questions to Reflect On - How do you respond when your group loses influence? - What can you learn from rivalries? A Different Perspective Power can be fleeting and dependent on context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Junior high](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/junior-high/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) [Street](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/street/) ## Related quotes > [“Your dad was in a street gang?" 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Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-f-smith/) > [“The good part about these areas that we were taking over, was that all of them had parks where a lot of guys were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drexel-deal/the-good-part-about-these-areas-that-we-were-taking-over-was-that-all/) [Drexel Deal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drexel-deal/) > [If we take back the labor unions, the legitimate businesses, eventually they become just another street gang. 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Stands for ‘Ain’t No Game.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-hawley/a-street-gang-called-ang-stands-for-ain-t-no-game/) [Samuel Hawley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-hawley/) > [Every city in the world always has a gang, a street gang, or the so-called outcasts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimi-hendrix/every-city-in-the-world-always-has-a-gang-a-street-gang-or-the-so/) [Jimi Hendrix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimi-hendrix/) > [“But the general feeling in the neighborhood was that school was for suckers. 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Bruce Cameron > [That's the lesson of the dogs, that it's important to both live in the moment and then go on to the next wonderful thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-bruce-cameron/that-s-the-lesson-of-the-dogs-that-it-s-important-to-both-live-in-the/) [W. Bruce Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-bruce-cameron/) > [Without a dog, no one will listen to your opinions for more than a few minutes without interrupting to tell you their opinions, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-bruce-cameron/without-a-dog-no-one-will-listen-to-your-opinions-for-more-than-a-few/) [W. Bruce Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-bruce-cameron/) > [I was riding my mountain bike in Colorado, and I met a dog who reminded me so much of my very first dog in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-bruce-cameron/i-was-riding-my-mountain-bike-in-colorado-and-i-met-a-dog-who/) [W. 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Bruce Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-bruce-cameron/) > [I've tried several diets over the past couple of years - not because I need to lose weight, but because my pants are trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-bruce-cameron/i-ve-tried-several-diets-over-the-past-couple-of-years-not-because-i/) [W. Bruce Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-bruce-cameron/) > [My philosophy on snow skiing is that there are less expensive ways to fall down a mountain. Yet every couple of years, I go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-bruce-cameron/my-philosophy-on-snow-skiing-is-that-there-are-less-expensive-ways-to/) [W. Bruce Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-bruce-cameron/) > [“You remind me in so many ways of my dog Molly, her gentleness, but also Max, with his self-assurance. Will you tell my angel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-bruce-cameron/you-remind-me-in-so-many-ways-of-my-dog-molly-her-gentleness-but-also/) [W. Bruce Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-bruce-cameron/) > [I started writing in fourth grade and never stopped. I faked my way through high school and nearly was flushed from college - I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-bruce-cameron/i-started-writing-in-fourth-grade-and-never-stopped-i-faked-my-way/) [W. Bruce Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-bruce-cameron/) > [None of the kids in the neighborhood had dogs. My dad walked in that Labrador, and we started running together and rolling around together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-bruce-cameron/none-of-the-kids-in-the-neighborhood-had-dogs-my-dad-walked-in-that/) [W. Bruce Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-bruce-cameron/) > [When I was in seventh grade, I was a scrawny boy with no muscles, so I went out for wrestling. My intention was to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-bruce-cameron/when-i-was-in-seventh-grade-i-was-a-scrawny-boy-with-no-muscles-so-i/) [W. Bruce Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-bruce-cameron/) > [“What happened to the Ford?” “God, Gloria made me sell it. Supposedly, I had too much independence—that’s the new theory, that I ran off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-bruce-cameron/what-happened-to-the-ford-god-gloria-made-me-sell-it-supposedly-i-had/) [W. Bruce Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-bruce-cameron/) > [The first cellphone I owned was hardly a slim, high-tech device - it was more like a brick with buttons, only with worse reception.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-bruce-cameron/the-first-cellphone-i-owned-was-hardly-a-slim-high-tech-device-it-was/) [W. Bruce Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-bruce-cameron/) > [3D printers give us what we've all been craving: another reason to talk to technical support. When you finally get the thing working, though,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-bruce-cameron/3d-printers-give-us-what-we-ve-all-been-craving-another-reason-to/) [W. Bruce Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-bruce-cameron/) [Explore all 108 W. Bruce Cameron quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-bruce-cameron/) ## More Gang quotes > [“barrios; each barrio has two or three gangs, and all the gangs are theoretically”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/barrios-each-barrio-has-two-or-three-gangs-and-all-the-gangs-are/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“...unnskyld? Men opptar Fordervelsen hele sofaen?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-l-kielland/unnskyld-men-opptar-fordervelsen-hele-sofaen/) [Alexander L. Kielland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-l-kielland/) > [Women are sort of like motorcycle gangs with me. They get really shy and polite. 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