I will never forget the day I met a fourth grade classmate named Michael Daneuser. From what I remember, Michael was the quintessential model for the guy who knew everything, had everything, and did everything; at least that's what he said. He routinely boasted to my friends and me that he had five or more dirt bikes, and his father had built his family a house with a bowling alley. Michael also prided himself on having several four wheelers and numerous rifles that he shot in Africa with his father. Even as kids in elementary school, we weren't that stupid. We realized that we all lived in a small neighborhood, and we would have surely heard of this dream-place known as the "Daneuser Estate" if it actually existed. The truth is that it did not exist and Michael's family was actually a lower-middle class family. It was always funny to us that Michael believed with such conviction that he was the smartest, richest, and most athletic kid in the world. It was as if he was totally blind to what we all saw in him: pride and arrogance. It is now apparent to me that pride was only one small part of his personality. After my research on narcissism, I now know that Michael exemplified a narcissistic personality with a great need for affirmation. For example, Michael would always affix a question at the end of his boasting. This question was, "Don't you think?" He would say, "Yeah the other day my dad and I shot some squirrels and I shot four. That's a lot of squirrels for just one day, don't you think?" Of course, we all pretended to be amazed because Michael was also good at being the class bully. So much did we hate Michael that we would avoid him at all costs or have pre-planned scripts to follow to avoid having to listen to his stories. The truth is that Michael constantly desired affection from the teachers, and would almost be brought to tears when someone confronted his lies or stood up to him, which unfortunately we didn't discover until the last couple of months we knew him! At times he could be quite hostile and frequently got himself into trouble by being verbally and physically rough with other kids.
