For those of you who were considered ”gifted” in school, what are you doing with your life now?

The good news: I got a few computer engineering degrees and now in my mid-twenties I'm an engineer. I've got some good friends and fun hobbies and financial security, and I really like my job. I'm not huge on the idea of my life consisting of 45 more years of it and that's basically it, but I'm not miserable at the thought, either. I do have some sense of purpose in it, and I write, I volunteer, all that good stuff.

The bad news: I was a weird, introverted kid and that hasn't changed much. I haven't made physical contact with a guy my age, aside from in the context of contact sports, in... five years? But I'm happy doing my own thing and feel no urgent need to go chase anybody. If it ain't broke, you know?

I think I was very lucky to go to a challenging high school, so college wasn't my first experience of having to study and not being the smartest person around. It also helped that my parents were easygoing about grades, so I could be in the habit of sleeping 8 hours, doing a sport, spending some time with friends, generally taking care of myself to at least a reasonable extent, and then whatever time was left was for schoolwork, and if that meant I got a C here and there then whatever. I think I was more psychologically prepared for the first college test with a 35 average, lol.

/r/AskReddit Thread