I don't think Kvothe's story is that unusual. It's similar to mine, actually.

I was in the circus with my family until they were all murdered. So I spent time living in the woods, as a child, as well as Bear Grylls or Survivorman. Oh, and I basically became the Jimmy Hendrix of the guitar while I was at it. Then I moved to New York City and lived on the streets for a few years.

Then I went to Harvard and became the youngest student ever. They actually paid me to enroll too, so it didn't matter that I didn't have any money. I quickly skipped my freshman and sophomore year and then became one of the top students (even though I broke the rules and got into trouble constantly). In my spare time, I made the cut for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. I also saved a village full of people up in New Hampshire and I killed a Dinosaur and saved the most beautiful woman in the world while doing so. Or maybe the woman that I saved from the fire is the most beautiful woman ever. I can't remember. No wait, the most beautiful woman comes later...

I did all of this on a total of about $80, by the way.

I took a break from Harvard for a while to go to England and help Prince William with his love life, even though I've never even had a girlfriend. Oh, and I also cured his disease and saved him from being murdered. Then I led a squad of green berets in to root out an destroy a ISIS terrorist cell, even though I have zero military experience. While I was there, I stumbled upon Kate Upton and had sex with her for a few months. Except that it wasn't really Kate Upton, it was somebody much hotter than Kate Upton. Oh, and I accidentally ran into Satan and doomed myself, but I'm sure I'll outsmart him eventually, so don't worry. Then I started studying a mix of Karate/Judo/Tae Kwan do with my 10th degree black belt friend. He and I then ran a marathon per day to china where I became the first ever outsider to earn his black belt....