Operant Conditioning

I'm back :]
I've been a busy bee you know.

So, I think I'm going to start telling funny little anectdotes about my childhood. I think they'll be funny. :]

So, the other day, in my Abnormal Psych class, we were talking about methods of learning. One is operant conditioning, in which you learn either by reinforcment or by punishment. My professor asked me what I had learned by operant conditioning.

"Don't run with your hands in your pockets."

Seriously.

So, I was 7. I lived a block and a half from the bus stop. But for some reason, I felt that I was running late. I looked cute, with my new little bell bottoms, purple raincoat, and purple Aladdin lunch box. It was supposed to rain, so I had my umbrella too. So, I started to run my way to the middle school to catch my ride to my daily hell.

My hands were really cold. That's uncomfortable, you know. So what do I do?

Shove them in my pockets. While carrying a lunch box and an umbrella.
....and, I kept running.

I was valedictorian of my high school class you know.

I was so close. So, so, so close.

You know, when you're falling, and there's that tiny moment when time stops, and you think "Oh sh#t. I am going to fall. There is -nothing- I can do about this."? Yup. That happened. Only it was a million times worse because I couldn't catch myself with my hands.

Face? Meet pavement. I am sure you will become wonderful friends.

Now, I've been known to be kind of clumsy. So. I wasn't going to cry. I sucked it up. Sat up until my head started spinning and assesed the damage. No rip in my jeans, my lunch didn't spill anywhere. Ow.. my nose...

Yup, shouldn't have touched my nose either. I could have kept some dignity.

It was bad. I removed my hand to see that it was covered in blood. I didn't think that much blood could come from the -outside- of your nose. Oh, it can. I didn't think I could wail that loud.

You bet your @$$ I wailed.

I was promptly taken inside to the middle school nurse. All the skin on my nose, was like. Gone.

They called my mom. She....laughed. I can't lie, I probably would too.

I refused to wear a bandaid. No way I was going to look like that kind of goober. So, she let me wear the bandaid at home and not go to school. Little did I know that kids I didn't even know at the time knew about my little accident.

So yeah. Went to school the next day with the biggest scab the world had ever seen. Right in the middle of my face.

I was in love with this kid, BG, we'll call him. He was such a cute kid. I suppose you could call him my first elementary school crush. Valentine's day came around. He didn't want to be my Valentine. Because of the giant scab on my face.

The things that mortify a kid.

My dad still says, "Remember that one time you ran with your hands in your pockets?"

Yes Dad. *grumble*

My professor laughed. "I suppose that is a very good lesson learned by operant conditioning."

To this day, I don't run on the pavement.

I don't walk with my hands in my pockets either.

Operant Conditioning, ftw.