David Campbell: What does an old school photo reveal about who I am today?

WHEN I looked at that boy in the old school photo, I realised I’m more like him now than ever before, writes David Campbell. I was too quick to force him out of my memory.

“I was an average B student. Just nice.” (Pic: Nigel Lough for Stellar)

IT’S not the sort of delivery you receive every day. My sister turned up for a visit and dropped off a package someone had given to my father with the strict instructions: “It must be hand-delivered to David.”

How thrilling!

As the theme to Mission: Impossible played in my head, I fantasised about the planes I’d hang off as I cracked the code that would stop the planet from teetering off its axis. NASA would thank me. The Queen would knight me and even President Trump would forgive what I’d said about him and call me a “Really, really great guy, one of the best and smartest I know, and I know all the best guys, I am sure you will agree”.

The Walter Mitty-esque dreamscape dissolved quickly when I pulled out a simple old register book. Its faded green cover was nondescript and, hang on, there’s handwriting in the corner!

J. Wood. Year 8 Science.

My Year 8 teacher had sent me an old class photo and my report from that year. A deep dive into what made me the man I am today. What clues would it unlock in my psyche to embolden me for the rest of my life?

Proving once and for all that I always had a spark. Perhaps I was seen as gifted in high school and never knew it. I flicked through the pages of notes on the school and found my name.

CAMPBELL, David. Assessment 1 comments... Here we go!

Well organised. Good bookwork and attention to detail. B.

Wait. That was it? No. Surely there was more?

This was it. I was an average B student. Just nice. Well organised (read: needy), had good bookwork (nerdy) and attention to detail (early OCD).

David Campbell features in Stellar magazine. (Pic: Tane Coffin for Stellar)

I looked over the photo and the memories came flooding back. The bowl haircut neatly framing ears already too big for my head. The nervous smile and arms stiff at my side so as not to stand out.

Nowhere near puberty and the rebellion that would creep into my school years in the coming years. I would try to distract from my crippling acne and anxiety by showing off and making my schoolmates, and with any luck the girls in my class, laugh and see beyond all that.

My grades would slip to C, then some Ds, and my attention to detail became focused on my wonderful mullet and my attitude, which was less OCD and more undiagnosed ADHD.

I think of my latter high school years as what defined me to be the performer I am today. I had “more front than Myer”, keeping most people at bay while my life and identity were being challenged daily and tying me in knots.

However, when I looked at that boy in the second row in 1986, I realised I’m more like him now than ever before. I was too harsh on him. Too quick to force him out of my memory. He was a good boy. He cared, perhaps a little too much. He loved comic books and just wanted to be liked. In fact, I wish I was even more like him.

Except for the haircut.

David co-hosts Today Extra, 9am weekdays, on the Nine Network.