Growing up as a "gifted learner," I often times did not even grasp what all that phrase meant. There is so much more than just being really smart, and I am still figuring a lot of the meaning behind the word gifted out. Repeatedly as a child I would be accused of seeking attention and just claiming that title to make me feel more special than other children my age. However, I typically felt the exact opposite way. I continuously want to be able to understand a simple problem in the way my peers do, and if I could go five minutes without asking questions, then that would be even better! I have come to realize that most gifted children feel the same way on a lot of matters, and overall, we just want to be told that others are okay with us thinking the way we do.
1. We often feel like we are strange and different and only want to be seen as normal.
We do not always want to be hypersensitive to things around us. Many of us have issues with “strange” things such as noises, words and even textures. I have a personal issue with food textures that is often time just written off as me being silly, however, there is something about certain foods and textures that simply I cannot handle. It is not me choosing to be ridiculous, but rather me not having an option to choose to like something. Many times I have wished that I could simply ignore the texture and eat the foods to suffice those around me, but I just can’t.
2. We are more emotional than most kids our age.
As a kid I remember often caring more about the things kids my age said. There was more meaning to me in sharing a snack with someone than just simply the snack. As a kid it meant that I could be making a friendship that could last a lifetime. I could be trying a new food that may become my favorite. Even choosing my own food became a long list of pros and cons. If I got a pickle it would be sour and that would be nice, but what about if I wanted some sweet chocolate? While both sounded great, the two together would not quite go. This is just us making connections that not every person cares or notices to create.
3. The words " You are smart" mean nothing.
There are very few words that we hear as much as how smart we are. After so many times those words become hollow to us. We need to be pushed, encouraged in the midst of our failures, and we need to be reminded to be patient with ourselves.
4. We are the hardest on ourselves.
The constant praise for how smart we are only makes it 100 times harder when we fail. That B in a class is like an F to us because we know we are capable of more. If we had only studied harder and just maybe, we could have obtained that A. Even in college, I find myself battling with myself and my extreme standards, only I have put the weight of the world on my shoulders.
5. We are not all high achievers, we just think differently and we are not all the same.
There is not just one type of gifted learners. Some of us use our intelligence to make good grades. Some of us simply want to solve one problem at a time and make life a little easier. Some of us just cannot excel under strict rules and formats. My favorite part of a gifted classroom was the ability to solve a problem however you can. The teacher was there to simply facilitate discussions and get our thoughts started. Their job was never to tell us how to do a task, but rather to see what ways we could come up with.
6. We are still just people.
Just because we think a little different and may act differently, we are still people. Those who say we are just liars and want attention don’t always realize that we are not seeking for attention and just want to be understood for how we think and act. We want to be accepted by others. So, next time may you remember that yes, we have our quirks, but we are just living life the same as anyone else.
One of my favorite picture examples to help explain the way mine and so many other minds work.
