The area that was challenging to me as a child

The area that was challenging to me as a child was social emotional.  As a child I was very shy and didn't really do well with interacting with not only my peers but also adults.  I was always smart and caught on to things very quickly, but I always use to stay to myself.  I had a very big vocabulary at a young age, but for some reason I never wanted to express myself and open up to other people.  I would never forget the day my mother scolded me because I was so shy I was afraid to speak to my half brothers on my dad's side.  I always knew them and had spent a lot of time with them while I was young but I still didn't feel comfortable enough to express myself in front of them.  In grade school I used to hate when the teacher made us go to the board to work out problems because I knew that she would ask us to explain how we got the answer and it was hard for me to speak in front of the class.  This shyness lasted all the way through grade school and up into high school.  I think somewhere in my mind I felt like I didn't fit in so I just stayed to myself in fear of being rejected.  Things changed for me as I grew into an adult.  I don't know what came over me, but now I am very open to talking to people and I'm not shy at all.