Gifted Kid Problems - Tumblr Posts
I don't understand how I could devour at least three large books in one sitting when I was in fifth grade but now I struggle to read just one page of any of my favourite books
Did anyone else come from successful families on both sides where each generation is expected to succeed or do better than the last but you're in your final year of high school and have done nothing to prove so by wasting your potential despite having worked hard for most of your life?
Is anyone hear the youngest of your family and already considered the smartest or the best of your already highly capable older siblings, but because in everyone's eyes they wasted their potential everyone's putting the expectation to be the "successful one" even though said siblings are already doing well in their own right and it's just the way your family has perceived what they've done as failing?
Did anyone else constantly succeed growing up in terms of either academics or extra curriculars to the point everything became a complete bore to you so you get accepted into an international private school in hopes of giving you a challenge with your families encouragement. So you go and you thrive but over the years your mental health begins deteriorating so you beg to be let to go back to public school where you think you'll do well because what they're teaching now was already taught to you at private school but you brain just wants rest and doesn't care about failing or succeeding you just want to be able to sleep everything away?
Did anyone else do really well in one languages but not know they're mother tongue because of systematic racism so when you're school finally gives you a chance to learn it you're family convinces you to go but you were already doing so well in a different language and now have to transfer to another so you don't let your family down?
Did anyone else do so much extra curricular activities because you were afraid of making friends and these were some of the only ways you could talk to people but you did them for so long and you became so good at them that these became boring to you as well and for once you just wanted to have a weekend, lunchtime, or some after school time to yourself where you didn't have to worry about practice, training, and homework without missing one?
Did anyone else have to take extra swimming lessons because it's an essential life skill but your fear of deep water prevents you from ever using these skills so you stay in the shallows and feel like the money and time spent on those lessons went to waste?
Did anyone else's family sign them for an after school club because you appearently need to learn new skills for the future but you're already so busy and these lessons are expensive so once again you're wasting more time and money but this time even though you've confronted your family they tell you no but you're suffering of boredom and anxiety of not having learned or understood anything for two and half hours?
Did anyone else miss out on the chance to learn basic life skills like communication, cooking, and cleaning, and first aid because you were too busy trying to succeed at everything else to the point it caused you crippling loneliness and made you think that everyone else's opinion if you was more important than you yourself?
Did anyone else have complete plan for the future because you thought said plan would go the way you were expecting things would work out but the world was already shit and because you're failing at just about everything you were good at now you don't know if you'll make it to uni because you don't have enough credits and you might have to repeat. You don't know if you'll go to art school because no one cares about artists careers. You don't know if you'll become an architect because now you're always destroying your work in frustration because it didn't turn out the way you wanted it to. You don't know if you'll write a successful book because you can't sort out in your head how to sort out the plot, characters, and symbolism and weave everything into a compelling story. You don't know if you'll become an animator because of the crappy work hours compared to payment.
You're plan failed and you have no idea what to do. You've wasted everyone's money and time and you've wasted your potential and lost your future.
No, Just me? Okay then.
.... @sharmasaurus @justyourregulardepressedteen
Things that scream gifted kid burnout
Being on Tumblr, Wattpad. or AO3. especially AO3
Having several unused notebooks, that are empty simply out of fear of "ruining" them.
A caffeine addiction that started with you pulling all nighters that has progressed into you living off of monsters and never sleeping.
Having a praise or degradation kink, I'm sorry dear, I don't make the rules,
Saint Bernard by Lincoln If you wanna listen
Buying books and never reading them and or reading classics just to say you've read them.
Listening to Mitski , specifically Brand New city
All of Bo Burnhams Inside
Being the mom friend (you wanna give people the affection and attention you never received outside of your academic accomplishments.)
Your love language being acts of service
Having an academia playlist but also having a "lets burn the government playlist"
Hozier
Wanting to run away to the woods but also wanting to run away to a big city and cut off everyone from your past.
Having an obsession with office supplies/stationary
Notes app rants
I'm smart but dumb bc Im in all ap classes but the other day I accidentally stole a baby Yoda hand fan because I forgot it was in my hand
The day I realised I’ve not had a single hobby or “talent” just for me and that it has always been to please others… yeah that’s the die my soul broke into numerous pieces.
I am simultaneously consumed by the fear of being too much while also dreading not being enough
It should be an actual crime that people don’t appreciate dear reader more. That song is everything that Taylor has been trying to tell us about herself and it is the epitome of traumatised daughter who was a gifted child but can no longer seek help and can’t let anyone in trope. Dear reader is my bible 😭😭🙇♀️🙇♀️
I always feel like I'm teetering on a ledge where I am simultaneously too much and still never enough... for anyone.
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