This is one of those aspirational strips. I don’t actually get out that often to drink mimosas with friends. Honestly, I don’t even drink much anymore. And the location isn’t real. But gosh, doesn’t this look like a great place to talk about my Giftedness? I would love to talk about my weird brain over mimosas in a La Jolla-ish restaurant.
Being a Gifted Kid can be a burden. Everyone expects us to be workhorses for capitalism the second they find out we’re “smart.” This is what leads to overwork and Gifted Kid Burnout. Classes get harder. Expectations go higher. Most of us Gifted Kids would rather collect yarn samples than train for yet another standardized test. And there are no prizes for growing into adulthood for Gifted Kids. We go from “Oh good you can get a bunch of grades and make us look good” to “Why the hell are you still obsessed with Sonic the Hedgehog?” From adorable child prodigy to misunderstood madmen. That’s what it means to be a Gifted Kid gone Adult.
But I overcame the odds. I actually came good on the demands of capitalism. I leveled up in my career. Built my own slapdash animation studio out of my gumption and a roll of scotch tape. That’s worth celebrating! Good job, Me. I’m the Child Prodigy who became a Regular Prodigy.
Have I had difficult depression years? Sure. But that wasn’t Gifted Kid Burnout. That was good old-fashioned situational depression. And I’m good now.
Celebrate an adult’s Giftedness today.