Is "that" necessary here?
Native speaker’s answer
Rebecca
Yes, "that" is necessary for this sentence. It is being used as a conjunction to combine the two clauses; explaining what he made up his mind about as a young child. If we removed "that" from the sentence, it no longer ties the two clauses together. Ex: He was so angry that he couldn't be reasoned with. Ex: I purchased the ingredients that are needed to make cookies.