Page 56 - A Life - my Live - my path

School - my youth

Boom, and ask if they have any work for you. My sister was
ready, and she went off to catch the bus 50 m from the house.
I didn't know what to do, I was completely lost. I stood there
without moving, he got up, came over to me and flicked me
with three fingers, telling me it was the last time I'd come
back with a failure. Finally, he said: "You can go and take the
bus".

It was a time of negative influences. It didn't last long, but
I spent more time preparing little pieces of paper - copying -
than studying. It was completely stupid!

With hindsight, I think I can explain this behaviour, which
may seem strange. It was probably the influence of the

social environment in which we lived. When you're in your
pre-adolescence and the vast majority of your friends and
acquaintances adopt a certain behaviour, it's not easy to
break out of it. You become one of the 'masses'. Of all the
young people I've known (between 30 and 40), only one
has gone on to higher education.
This is an indicator.

I stayed at UT for almost three years. I did the 1st, 2nd and
part of the 3rd year. Then, in April 1966, we moved to Piéton,
a village between Charleroi and La Louvière, near
Morlanwelz, where the Institut Provincial des Arts et
Métiers (IPAM) was located. So, I left the UT and enrolled at
the IPAM. I don't remember the real reason, but in June
1966 I failed my 3rd year of studies.

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