I started out as a child. I discovered my dad’s library of sf & fantasy pretty much as soon as I could read. It was an entire wall of the attic, completely covered in paperback books and magazines.
I grew up reading the classics of SF from the Forties, Fifties and Sixties, and watching Monty Python’s Flying Circus in its first American run. I learned to appreciate imagination and dry wit.
Somewhere in there, I started trying to figure out how things work. My brother was big on taking things apart, but I was the one who tried to put them back together to see if I could make them work again.
I still am fascinated by the internal workings of things, but most of the time I’m dealing with software or processes these days.
Forgive me for being a smart ass, but most of us can say that we “started out as a child”. I’m guessing you meant your fascination with SF/fantasy and generally being the clever and imaginative “you” that you are today and this is all true.
You also remembered everything that ever happened to you or that you heard or read. You “knew” things. Before there was Google. I had you and I thank you for that.
I did (and do) mean that I started being me as a child, as we all do.
I chose that phrase for two reasons. One is that some of the things I do, such as reading comic books and playing games, are regarded as childish pastimes by many people.
The other is that it’s the title of Bill Cosby’s second album, which is incredibly funny. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Started_Out_as_a_Child
Bill Cosby’s album is still funny. The man himself is problematic.
I am continuing to discover things I have in common with my birth family that were different from my adoptive family – like remembering everything I read and being enthralled with fantasy and sci-fi from an early age. Thanks for sharing this.