Former Gifted Kid - Tumblr Posts

I actually have somewhat of a story behind mine

As a former gifted kid, I was always told I HAD to succeed. The line between encouragement and pressure was thin. And for a long time, I agreed. I wanted to "go for the gold".

I started questioning this in middle school. After experiencing bullying, crappy teachers and staff vs teachers who were actual saints with shit for support (between lack of funding bc public school and my middle school was a contest of who could suck up to the principal), disruptive classmates (they were annoying, I'll admit that, especially since I really cared about learning, but in hindsight I should've been more understanding), being unessesarily overwhelmed with hw, and just having my eyes opened to the world. I started to really question my education. I fell in love with The Hunger Games and Ray Bradbury in particular, and my parents got me into Star Trek. I got my first smart phone at 13, and got my first real introduction to social media. The older I became, the less I really wanted the gold. I vowed to be glitter instead: flashier, messier, imperfect, brighter, and impossible to get rid of. Glitter became a symbol of my soul and how I was changing and growing and starting to fight against the unfairness around me. I was far from perfect, but it was my mission to stand up to bullying, to call out crappy teachers and supporting ones who actually cared, all with the support of my loving, Karen mom. To be honest, I had a lot of academic elitism and racism that I wasn't even aware of at the time, but my path to redemption and rebellion started when I decided that I wasn't going to take things at face value. My achievements were great, but why couldn't everyone have the same opportunities? And why did all this pressure and extra hw fall onto the smart kids such as myself?

As a way to stand out from the crowd and to outwardly display my discontent for the status quo, I wore the most bizarre outfits I could come up with, many of wich included glitter.

Glitter was also the reason I started questioning my sexuality. Anytime I saw a girl wearing glitter or even just a really cool outfit I felt The Sexual Attraction ™️. Being dense, I litterally thought I was sexuality attracted to glitter lmao.

My feelings of frustration multiplied in high school, as did my love of glitter. Twards the end of high school, I started experiencing my first academic burnout. I had so many feelings of anger, not only to the school system, but myself. The idea that I could be imperfect yet beautiful like glitter helped me through that and encouraged me to push through that. I sought help for my mental health problems, despite my mom's protests. At 18, after the death of my cat (God bless her soul. I miss my baby girl every day), my mom conceded and I finnally got therapy. I finnally felt like I was going uphill.

Then covid happened. That threw a wrench in my mental health. I started off my 4 year college depressed and not even passing. My anger at my family, my schooling, my society, and myself turned into a crushing negativity.

One of the few things that kept me sane enough to survive was glitter. I own several outfits covered in sequins and glitter. Fashion is an art and I was my own audience. If I could sparkle, I had confidence, and hope.

Im still recovering from that low. My grades are still crappy. But my heart has grown so much. I learned so many things I never could have learned in school.

I am a better person than I was in middle school, if a bit more pessimistic. I'm aware of my biases. I'm aware of my impact. I've learned to forgive my shortcomings. I see myself growing into a pile of glitter, and one day, I hope my positive influence spreads far and wide, like that bit of shimmer in the corner of the carpet that no vacuum cleaner can reach. You don't always know where it came from, but you smile when you see it.

I may not always "go for the gold". Many times, gold is simply unattainable.

If I can be a pile of glitter instead, that is more than enough.

i'm curious, if u want rb this with why you chose your url!

I actually have somewhat of a story behind mine

As a former gifted kid, I was always told I HAD to succeed. The line between encouragement and pressure was thin. And for a long time, I agreed. I wanted to "go for the gold".

I started questioning this in middle school. After experiencing bullying, crappy teachers and staff vs teachers who were actual saints with shit for support (between lack of funding bc public school and my middle school was a contest of who could suck up to the principal), disruptive classmates (they were annoying, I'll admit that, especially since I really cared about learning, but in hindsight I should've been more understanding), being unessesarily overwhelmed with hw, and just having my eyes opened to the world. I started to really question my education. I fell in love with The Hunger Games and Ray Bradbury in particular, and my parents got me into Star Trek. I got my first smart phone at 13, and got my first real introduction to social media. The older I became, the less I really wanted the gold. I vowed to be glitter instead: flashier, messier, imperfect, brighter, and impossible to get rid of. Glitter became a symbol of my soul and how I was changing and growing and starting to fight against the unfairness around me. I was far from perfect, but it was my mission to stand up to bullying, to call out crappy teachers and supporting ones who actually cared, all with the support of my loving, Karen mom. To be honest, I had a lot of academic elitism and racism that I wasn't even aware of at the time, but my path to redemption and rebellion started when I decided that I wasn't going to take things at face value. My achievements were great, but why couldn't everyone have the same opportunities? And why did all this pressure and extra hw fall onto the smart kids such as myself?

As a way to stand out from the crowd and to outwardly display my discontent for the status quo, I wore the most bizarre outfits I could come up with, many of wich included glitter.

Glitter was also the reason I started questioning my sexuality. Anytime I saw a girl wearing glitter or even just a really cool outfit I felt The Sexual Attraction ™️. Being dense, I litterally thought I was sexuality attracted to glitter lmao.

My feelings of frustration multiplied in high school, as did my love of glitter. Twards the end of high school, I started experiencing my first academic burnout. I had so many feelings of anger, not only to the school system, but myself. The idea that I could be imperfect yet beautiful like glitter helped me through that and encouraged me to push through that. I sought help for my mental health problems, despite my mom's protests. At 18, after the death of my cat (God bless her soul. I miss my baby girl every day), my mom conceded and I finnally got therapy. I finnally felt like I was going uphill.

Then covid happened. That threw a wrench in my mental health. I started off my 4 year college depressed and not even passing. My anger at my family, my schooling, my society, and myself turned into a crushing negativity.

One of the few things that kept me sane enough to survive was glitter. I own several outfits covered in sequins and glitter. Fashion is an art and I was my own audience. If I could sparkle, I had confidence, and hope.

Im still recovering from that low. My grades are still crappy. But my heart has grown so much. I learned so many things I never could have learned in school.

I am a better person than I was in middle school, if a bit more pessimistic. I'm aware of my biases. I'm aware of my impact. I've learned to forgive my shortcomings. I see myself growing into a pile of glitter, and one day, I hope my positive influence spreads far and wide, like that bit of shimmer in the corner of the carpet that no vacuum cleaner can reach. You don't always know where it came from, but you smile when you see it.

I may not always "go for the gold". Many times, gold is simply unattainable.

If I can be a pile of glitter instead, that is more than enough.

i'm curious, if u want rb this with why you chose your url!

How to handle running into a former friend or ex that you’re not looking to reconnect with

Let’s talk about something we all face at some point: running into someone from your past that you’ve moved on from, whether it’s an old friend or a former lover.

You’ve done the work, you’ve grieved, and you’ve leveled up. You’re not interested in rehashing the past or rekindling that connection. But what happens when you bump into them in public?

Often when this happened to me, I found the other person missed me and wanted to spend time with me again - even when they had ghosted me. This made me uncomfortable. They had confused me, I had to grieve the loss of the relationship and now they want me again???

Believing I owed them an explanation due to happy times spent together, I let them drag me into pointless discussions to figure out what had gone wrong years ago.

Every time, I realized our connection had ended for a reason, and my explaining only opened up old wounds.

Don't do that.

Here’s how to handle encounters with former friends, lovers and foes like a boss:

1. Stay Calm and Composed

First things first—take a deep breath. You’ve already moved on emotionally, and this is just another moment in your day. You’ve got this.

2. Acknowledge Them Briefly

If you make eye contact, a simple “Hi” or “Hello” with a confident smile is more than enough. You’re showing that you’re mature, unbothered, and not holding any grudges. No need for deep dives into what happened.

3. Keep it Short

If they try to engage in small talk, go ahead and be polite, but keep it light and brief. A quick “It’s good to see you,” followed by a natural exit, sends the message that you’re not interested in going any deeper.

4. Graceful Exit Strategies

Sometimes, it’s best to have an escape plan. If the conversation starts to linger, here are some graceful ways to make your exit:

“I’d love to chat more, but I’m on a tight schedule today. Have a great day!”

“It’s nice seeing you, but I need to finish my shopping before I forget what I need.”

“I have to go; someone’s waiting for me. Take care!”

“Well, I should get going. It was nice running into you!”

“I’ll let you get back to your day. See you around!”

5. Don’t Feel the Need to Explain

If they try to bring up the past, it’s perfectly fine to deflect. A simple, “That was a long time ago, and I’m focused on the present now” will keep you from getting sucked into a conversation you’re not interested in. You’ve moved on, and your time and energy are precious.

It’s all about maintaining your peace of mind and protecting the progress you’ve made. You’ve leveled up, and you don’t need to revisit chapters you’ve already closed.

Stay polite, stay brief, and most importantly, stay focused on you. You’ve got bigger and better things to do! 💪✨

i am genuinely really annoyed with the stated of "former gifted kid" discourse. it seems to be the current prevailing opinion is former gifted kids are just whining because oh boo hoo i was only good when classes was just naming colours. but that isnt the case. its a group of literal children who were failed by the education system in a manner different to people who werent considered former gifted kids, and werent given the tools to cope with that and in fact were expected to be able to cope. there was the expectation to cope that lingers with them and means that now there are issues that have gone unaddressed because they should be able to cope with them the system told them they should be able to cope why cant you cope you were such a bright child what happened i thought you were going to become a brain surgeon or a world leader its such a shame surrounded on all sides.

and i dont know. i think people should be kinder about other peoples struggles that they havent had.