#1 30 People Who Grew Up Being Labeled As ‘Gifted’ Share How Life Turned Out For Them

Since everyone is telling you you're a genius and you're special and you're capable of amazing things when you grow up... you spend the first twenty years of your life expecting success to fall into your lap. When you finally realize it won't, you're still stuck with your terrible work ethic.

#3 30 People Who Grew Up Being Labeled As ‘Gifted’ Share How Life Turned Out For Them

Lack of discipline, bad work ethic, started becoming more and more lazy and even falling behind everyone else. Even now, studying at the university, I fail pretty much all of my exams the first time I take them, cause I never actually learnt how to study in the first place.

#5 30 People Who Grew Up Being Labeled As ‘Gifted’ Share How Life Turned Out For Them

When people start doing better than you and you become more average, you start becoming a bit disconnected with who you are as a person. For all your life you've identified as the 'smart one', now you have no idea

#7 30 People Who Grew Up Being Labeled As ‘Gifted’ Share How Life Turned Out For Them

When you don't have to work at anything (intellectually), you're completely unprepared for those things that do require work, like essays, partner projects, etc. So you end up missing out on a lot of study skills, which all have a direct corollary to "adult" skills.

#9 30 People Who Grew Up Being Labeled As ‘Gifted’ Share How Life Turned Out For Them

I skipped a grade... So, no one saw me as the smart kid but instead as the diminutive thirteen year old ninth grader in Pre Calculus. You learn to keep your mouth shut. It wasn't that great.

#11 30 People Who Grew Up Being Labeled As ‘Gifted’ Share How Life Turned Out For Them

The correcting of other people is what I've found bothers people the most. I can't stand listening to others spout information that is incorrect, especially to smaller children that will repeat the endless cycle of stupid, so I say something. Or, when playing trivial pursuit, you know all the answers, but don't know how you know them and get the trivial or critical thought based games banned in your friend circle because, "she's just going to win anyway!"

#13 30 People Who Grew Up Being Labeled As ‘Gifted’ Share How Life Turned Out For Them

Have to say the best part of growing up gifted was the "well what'd you miss" I'd get from parents when I brought home anything less than a 100.

#15 30 People Who Grew Up Being Labeled As ‘Gifted’ Share How Life Turned Out For Them

Imposter syndrome out the wazoo. Everyone is going to find out that I don't know what I'm doing/am not working as hard as I should be/am not as gifted as they say I am.

#17 30 People Who Grew Up Being Labeled As ‘Gifted’ Share How Life Turned Out For Them

I used to be the smart kid. Now I'm the knows-a-couple-of-things guy.

#19 30 People Who Grew Up Being Labeled As ‘Gifted’ Share How Life Turned Out For Them

My self esteem, self worth, and happiness are being sucked up by this void feeling of mediocrity creeping into my life. I feel cheated, or like a cheater. I was given a head start early in life but now I'm sort of back to average. I feel like I was wrongly chosen as "gifted" and that I am a complete waste of resources.

#21 30 People Who Grew Up Being Labeled As ‘Gifted’ Share How Life Turned Out For Them

One thing I missed going from an excellent student in high school to an average one in college was the attention I'd get from teachers as the 'smart one.' I'd always feel they were generally looking out for me more. Of course, it didn't help that college class sizes were gigantic, but that anonymous feeling got to me. A bit embarrassing to admit.

#23 30 People Who Grew Up Being Labeled As ‘Gifted’ Share How Life Turned Out For Them

We're going to spend a week's worth of classes learning one concept. Gifted Student, you're going to get this in five minutes and sit in the back corner reading for the rest of the week while I get more and more angry and yell at you for not paying attention. I'm going to sent you to in school suspension for one day this week, meaning you'll miss one of those classes. You'll be back in time for the test and still get the highest grade in the class, which will make me hate you even more.

#25 30 People Who Grew Up Being Labeled As ‘Gifted’ Share How Life Turned Out For Them

I have always felt an immense pressure from my family (parents and my parents close friends who are like my aunts and uncles) to work hard and not squander the gift I was born with. I will be receiving my Ph.D in biomedical science and translational medicine next Friday. My current work focuses on identifying a novel protein complex that is involved in Triglyceride metabolism. Hopefully I lived up to their expectations and can leave something behind in this world to benefit mankind....or a pharmaceutical company hires me and pays me a boatload of money.