If we are unable to relate to any positive things about growing up as a JW at this time, that's ok. It doesn't mean that we won't eventually. When something that has once been the daily circumstance of our lives (relationship, job, home, pet, etc) ends, we usually go into a "mourning" period. It does not necessarily mean that the thing "mourned" was the right thing for us in the first place, it is just the mind's way of helping us deal with the change. And it has several stages that we will probably go through, with recovery as the eventual goal. At the end we are usually able to better process the things we learned from the experience. So, we are in our own individual stages, and wherever we are, is exactly where we ought to be on the way to our own healing. The stage of "acceptance" usually comes near the end, and may yet be a ways off for some of us. Again, it's O.K.

That having been said, I have another vote for having learned excellent public speaking skills from the JW's, and for having made a fairly decent living from it. I'm happy that I could utilize something they made me do for their own purposes, and end up using it for my own benefit. I also became an avid reader, and a good student, as well as developing skills in language, writing, grammar, spelling and pronunciation. Training in "field service" taught me to be able to approach anyone on the street and to carry on a conversation with strangers at the drop of a hat. The confidence I gained from that eventually honed my social skills, as well, and I know how to speak, act and dress appropriately for most any occasion, as others have also mentioned. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the narrow-mindedness of the JW's to anyone who they considered "unacceptable", has led me to many years of work with people who used drugs and alcohol, people with the HIV virus, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered individuals and people struggling with mental disabilities. I wanted to disassociate myself from their views of rejecting people who did not meet their standards of acceptability. So, I feel that I've learned some very valuable lessons from them, even if unintentional on their part.