Those formative years are so important to us yet we don't know it...Now I can look back and see the value and how the difficulties helped shape me.
From time to time I wonder if knowing how important those experiences were to me being who I am would have made them more bearable at the time, but I'm not sure I would have learned as much possessing that knowledge. Sometimes trials, tribulations, and despair are the steroids of character!
You're not so bad yourself! lol
Adversity is a great teacher. Of course, it takes the right person and attitude to make it so.