“Talking” to My Computer

I have been religiously studying French everyday. Why? I am not exactly sure, but I love the language and I keep plugging away at it. I guess it is the joys of retirement, having time to do the things that I want to do. I decided to try an app that uses AI tutors to help with the conversational part of learning the language. I was skeptical at first, but I have found that it really has helped me get a bit better at understanding spoken French and being able to answer questions asked. The good thing is that I am not nervous when speaking to Giselle, my AI tutor, and she corrects me when I make mistakes. If I was plucked down into France right now, I would probably still be a deer in the headlights kind of French speaker, but I can see that I’ve made a bit of progress.

As I delved into the AI aspect of this app, I decided to ask AI about the current “president” and Obama when they were 7th graders. I taught 7th grade and I think I have a pretty good idea what runs through the mind of a 13 year old.

Below is AI’s version of the felon vs. Obama.

There isn’t a lot of detailed, day-by-day documentation about Donald Trump specifically as a 7th grader, but biographers, family members, and school accounts give a reasonably consistent picture of what he was like around that age (early adolescence).

Here’s what’s generally known and well-supported:

Energetic, assertive, and difficult to control

• As a boy, Trump was known to be high-energy, impulsive, and aggressive.
• He frequently got into trouble at school for talking back, fighting, or disruptive behavior.
• His parents reportedly struggled to manage his behavior at home and in school.

Sent to military school at age 13

• Because of these issues, Trump’s parents enrolled him at New York Military Academy when he was about 13 (roughly 7th–8th grade age).
• This decision is widely described as an attempt to impose discipline and structure.
• Trump himself has later said the experience helped channel his competitiveness and taught him self-control.

Competitive and status-oriented

• Even at a young age, Trump appears to have been very competitive, wanting to win, dominate, or stand out.
• Former classmates and later biographers describe him as someone who liked to assert authority and test boundaries.
• He reportedly responded well to hierarchical systems once he learned how to work them to his advantage.

Not described as academically exceptional

• There’s no strong evidence that he was a standout academic student in middle school.
• The emphasis in accounts is far more on personality and behavior than on grades or intellectual curiosity.

Early patterns that persisted
Many traits people associate with Trump as an adult can be traced back to this period:

• Confidence bordering on bravado
• A strong need to dominate social situations
• Sensitivity to challenges or perceived slights
• Comfort with confrontation

In short, as a 7th grader Trump was widely seen as smart enough, very energetic, often unruly, and strongly competitive, to the point that his parents felt a strict military environment was necessary.

Here’s a side-by-side comparison of Donald Trump and Barack Obama at roughly the same age (around 7th grade, ~12–13 years old), based on autobiographical accounts, biographers, and school records.

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Trump vs. Obama at Age 12–13

Category	Donald Trump	Barack Obama
Setting	Queens, New York; traditional, affluent household	Honolulu, Hawaii; multicultural, nontraditional family
School Environment	Conventional public/private schools → soon sent to military academy	Punahou School, elite private school
Temperament	Loud, assertive, impulsive, aggressive	Quiet, reserved, reflective
Behavior in Class	Frequently disruptive; talked back; got into trouble	Well-behaved; polite; not disruptive
Response to Authority	Challenged authority; resisted rules	Generally compliant; respected teachers
Social Style	Dominant; confrontational; status-oriented	Observant; selective friendships; low-key
Emotional Expression	Externalized emotions (anger, bravado)	Internalized emotions (self-questioning, reflection)
Competitiveness	Very competitive, win-or-lose mindset	Competitive mainly in sports, less socially
Identity Struggles	Less documented at this age	Actively grappling with race and belonging
Academic Reputation	Not academically notable	Strong verbal and analytical skills
Parental Intervention	Sent to military school for discipline	Encouraged intellectually; stable schooling
Early Leadership Style	Command-oriented, forceful	Consensus-oriented, listening first

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Key Differences in One Sentence Each

• Trump at that age was a high-energy, boundary-pushing kid whose behavior worried adults enough to trigger strict intervention.
• Obama was a thoughtful, inward-looking kid trying to understand who he was in a world where he felt different.

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What’s most striking

• Trump’s defining traits were external: confrontation, dominance, rule-testing.
• Obama’s defining traits were internal: reflection, emotional control, identity formation.
• Trump needed structure imposed from outside.
• Obama relied on self-regulation and observation.

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An important caveat

Middle school personality is not destiny. Plenty of difficult 12-year-olds become stable adults, and many quiet adolescents later find strong voices. Still, in this case, the patterns seen at 12–13 closely resemble how each man later led and communicated.

The caveat at the end is true, but I do think that the felon still has the emotional intelligence of a middle school student. Actually let me take that back. I taught many students who would do a better job at being president that he is doing now. I have no doubts about that whatsoever.

On a different note, I went outside with the dogs and I snapped a photo of an azalea that’s trying to bloom. We had a string of warm weather days, then a freeze, so I think these blooms are the best that it will be. I took one with my phone, then I downloaded the photo into Chat GPT and told it to make the photo artistic. Below you can see the results. The one on the right is the “artistic” photo.

And as I was walking inside, I spied a wild violet growing in the lawn. I took a portrait photo of it with my phone, and then asked Chat GPT to make it seem more spring like. The one on the right is the AI generated photo.

I am not sure how I feel about this whole AI thing, but I must say that the second photo of the violet kind of scrubbed away all of the dead leaves!

Love to all,

Michael