Musician Felix Shinder, Reminisces Over His School Days

Musician Felix Shinder, Reminisces Over His School Days

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From first to sixth grade, I attended this school – School #20.

I sat behind a desk, looked out of the window, and wondered how I could escape from here. It was here that I first understood that life is a many-faceted thing, and that being “cool” was not for me – that it wasn’t fun or healthy. I grew up with my mother and sister. I was a sensitive, short child who loved nature.

It was here that I understood that life is a many-faceted thing, and that being “cool” was not for me – that it wasn’t fun or healthy.

I had to repeat 9th grade three times. I just couldn’t manage to get past it. I thought it was all below me, that everyone was stupid. I spent some of those years hitchhiking. I would walk out of school with just my bag, jacket, and sleeping bag. I would think, “To hell with all of it!” – and would go to the Kotovsky area, then up to the highway and would get  all the way to Crimea. I’d call my mom and tell her “Hi mom, I’m in Mangup!”

I have pleasant memories of first grade. After that, the fights began. I didn’t like fighting, really, but in school there was this chaos. I started smoking in school. There were sailors who shared a yard with us, and they smoked cigars. I would find them sometimes and try to smoke them. I remember waiting until my mom left, going to the balcony, lighting this cigar to try and smoke it and nearly choking to death. It was a time of experimentation.

Conservatory, musical institute, music school – we graduated from none of those!

In fact my best memories from school is that of the girls. I especially liked the girls with their hair in buns From first grade all the way up  to the third, I was in love with a girl named Victoria. She was a tall, pretty brunette with her hair in a bob. I was madly in love with her, but too scared to tell her. I was tormented by this for three years, and then in third grade she confronted me and said “I know that you love me, but I don’t love you!” Sometimes I feel like I still feel vindictive towards women over that trauma.

As my friend says: “Conservatory, musical institute, music school – we graduated from none of those!”