Know Me Better: kindness, high school, names, and adrenaline junkies

Know me Better is a meme hosted by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer. Every week she posts 5 questions from her author interview list that the participating bloggers then answer and link to.

This week's questions:

What is the kindest thing anyone has done for you?
What is most memorable about your high school years?
Have you ever gotten up early for a "black Friday sale"?
Were you named after anyone?
Would you bungee jump, skydive or something similar?

What is the kindest thing anyone has done for you?

I've been racking my brain for something that stands out for a while now... many people have done kind things for me - my parents, my sister, friends... but I'm looking for this really small, seemingly-unimportant thing that came just at the right time and meant so, so much in that particular situation. I'm sure such things happened, but I can't remember right now.
But one thing that changed my life was finding people on Myspace who were from my country and listened to the same type of music! When I met them in real life they were so, so kind to me, inviting me along to shows, letting me crash at their homes, and asking things like 'hey, I'm organizing this show for a couple local bands at the Dynamo next week. Wanna help out at the  entry register for an hour or so or help with catering? You can come in and listen to the bands for free afterwards. And don't worry about catching the last train home, we're all camping out at my apartment and having breakfast together in the morning.' They just accepted me into their midst, and that year-and-a-half when I was 17/18 and met so many amazing people and bands and dared to actually DO things is still among my most treasured memories. They didn't have to do any of these things for me, but they did them anyway and I would be a completely different person if I hadn't met them.
 
What is most memorable about your high school years?
High school is sort of split up differently here. At 12, after 5 years of primary school, all students are assessed and put into one of 3 different schools according to their grades, for 4 more years. At 16, most enter an apprenticeship. Only those in the 'smartest' school-type who manage an average of at least 4.7 (6 is the best grade) can opt to go to school for another 4 years, and only if they pass the finals there can they enter university (no application necessary, just pay 700 bucks for the first semester and you're in).
So, high school... the first 4 years (age 11-15 for me) were awful. Awkwardness, bullying, and lots of fear. After that when I could start over in the new school that would prepare me for university, things got a lot better. Many people in my new class (you're with the same people for all your subjects in Switzerland, and you have at least 12 of them) had been through similar things. So it was a lot better. I made friends I'm still close to, got into writing, got a better grip of who I was. I think that's what I'm mostly taking away from it. Finally having the space to actually grow and be myself, not trying to hide in fear all the time anymore. The first few weeks I had sore muscles in my cheeks because I was laughing so much more than before!
 
Have you ever gotten up early for a "black Friday sale"?
There's no such thing in Switzerland, so nope. I probably wouldn't do it to myself anyway - from what I've heard it's full of grabby, buy-crazy people crammed into too little space. Horror.

Were you named after anyone?
No. My parents weren't fully aware of the meaning of my name, either. My mum always told me it means 'the woman from the mountain of Carmel', who apparently was a wise/cunning woman (some sort of witch). Imagine my surprise when I was cramming my Latin vocab and stumbled across my own name! It means 'song' or 'poem'. From then on I liked my name a lot more :)

Would you bungee jump, skydive or something similar?
Hell no! I'm sort of afraid of heights and not at all an adrenaline junkie. I never go on rollercoasters either. Skydiving is the one I could imagine I'd be most likely to do if forced though because it must be like flying...

That's it... some very long answers again. I wanted to put a picture in originally (of some of my friends mentioned above) but then decided against it. Anyhow... comments on my answers? And please link me up to your own :)