CHRIS EVANS
Gifted (2017)
Ghosted (2023)
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Chester, 23
“The pants are from a Banana Republic sale months ago, but the t-shirt belonged to my godfather from LA. He gave me a bunch of clothes last time I was visiting him. My style is inspired by the people in my life. All of my favorite pieces of clothing are either gifts or thrifted, and I really feel like I carry my friends and family with me when I’m dressed my best.”
Aug 26, 2023 ∙ Greenpoint
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As overplayed as the undiagnosed gifted kid to burned out neurodivergent narrative is, I fall into it perfectly. I have complicated feelings on being labeled as ‘gifted’ and placed into various advanced classes as a kid. Being “smart” was (and still, is, honestly) a deep rooted part of my identity. Any turn of events that makes me feel unintelligent deeply shakes my self esteem.
I think this is particularly potent for ND people because we think in behave in such divergent ways that our differences are considered an extension of our giftedness. In our minds being intelligent is the one good thing we have. We’re often mocked or looked down upon for not fitting in, so our only security is academic achievement.
I’d think admittedly very nasty things about the classmates that would ostracize me as a child. “It doesn’t matter what they think, because I’m so much smarter than them, and they’ll end up failing at life while I succeed” It hurt a lot to be excluded and at times laughed at. Basically little me was just coping extremely hard.
It’s dangerous to attribute success, whether academically or monetarily, to worth, but it’s something almost everyone is prone to. And in a society not designed for neurodivergent people, it’s much harder to meet that definition of success.
So you fail. And then what? Those around you have been sending the you the same messaging all your life- the one part of you that is worth anything at all is not enough.
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How Prevent Gifted Kid Burnout From a Gifted Silly whose Fire is still Blazing with Rage
1. EVERYTHING IS STUPID.
School is stupid, parents with unrealistically high expectations of you are stupid, teachers who overwork you are stupid.
You don't need their approval. You don't need to impress authority to have worth.
You don't need to be perfect, especially not in a broken system.
Test scores aren't a measure of intelligence. You are smart, even if the material was difficult to grasp.
You're not "wasting your potential" if you decide to pursue a career you love. Create art, write music, perform, you're contributing to the beauty of the world. There's more value in that than most people see.
You're not "wasting your potential" if you're an adult who isn't busting their butt in college or a fancy job. The economy is fucked right now, and being an adult is hard. You're doing your best.
And sometimes, you can't be at your best all the time, but you're trying, and that's all that matters.
2. Don't let school ruin a passion for learning.
Just learn. Learn and love learning. Learn without school holding you down. Find your passions, and run after them. Pursue knowledge because it's fucking fun.
Research something you care about for fun, challenge yourself to learn how to complete that math problem, learn, not because you feel like you have to, but because you want to.
Never let school make you lose a love for learning.
3. They explain it more effectively than I can lol
I made a video game metaphor but, when I was finding the video that made me realize this I read another video game metaphor that explained it better, "So basically, as a gifted kid, I skipped the tutorial because it felt too easy. Then the actual game threw curveballs at me" (adorablehoe, 2nd top comment).
HealthyGamerGG's entire channel has great information
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