How Being a Gifted Child Destroyed My Mental Health
Once upon a time, I was smart. Everyone from my teachers to Pizza Hut put me on a pedestal. When the path to praise shifted, I learned that early success is nearly impossible to sustain long-term.
Elementary School
As a child, I got good grades with minimal effort. The traditional format of public school fits my natural learning style. This privilege had nothing to do with my intelligence and everything to do with the luck of the draw. But, back then, I didn’t feel lucky. I felt intelligent.
As an honor roll student, I got plenty of praise, compliments, and free stuff:
- Chuck E. Cheese gave me free tokens
- Pizza Hut gave me free pizza
- Chick-fil-A gave me free ice cream
I was in heaven.
All I had to do was regurgitate information from my teacher and I’d get free junk food? Sign me up!
My name was on an honor roll list in a high-traffic area of the school. I got honored at countless end-of-school assemblies. I was given a gold star, after gold star, after gold star.
