WE live in a world obsessed with speed—the quickest network, the broadest coverage, cloud computing, and even food that can’t seem to be served or eaten fast enough. While inhaling said food, you can retrieve answers to any question or gain entry to the world’s largest repository of information in a virtual instant via the Internet and handheld devices.
Yet, when it comes to understanding—or even defining—giftedness, we seem to be in no rush to get there.
For more than a century, giftedness (and its “close cousin,” talent development) has been studied. Literally millions of words have been written describing this construct. Yet, the majority of people who have taken the time to study high intelligence and ability have done so from afar—a research lab, a university classroom, or a counselor’s office. Although there is nothing wrong with learning about the idea of giftedness from these places, the people who best know both the high points and the hurdles of giftedness are the teens who wear the “gifted” label. No doubt, a teen like you.
In the pages that follow, you will have the opportunity to “meet” giftedness through the voices and experiences of teens and young adults bearing that label. They share their stories, insights, anxieties, and joys, and they give some advice about growing up gifted from their own personal perspectives.
In addition to the hundreds of student comments encased within these pages, you’ll also find Your Turn boxes throughout the book. We created these reflective activities with the hope that they would enable and encourage you to see giftedness through your own experiences with this label. We hope that in completing some of these exercises, you will find out even more about your giftedness and how it impacts (or can impact) your life.
HOW THIS BOOK
CAME TO BE
As university professors, researchers, and teachers, we spend a lot of time reading the literature associated with giftedness. One limitation we constantly find is that people talk about giftedness and make statements or give advice based on what they think giftedness means. But very little of this advice comes directly from gifted students.
So, beginning in 2003, we asked gifted individuals around the world to share their beliefs, experiences, and concerns by responding to questionnaires on our website (http://www.giftedkidspeak.com). The process continues to this day, with tens of thousands of individuals having shared their thoughts thus far.
In If I’m So Smart, Why Aren’t the Answers Easy?, we focus on sharing stories from gifted teens, for gifted teens. What you’ll find between this book’s covers are representative answers, unique stories, and some interesting insights from more than 5,000 teens and young adults who took the time to answer our questionnaires.
You’ll also find some more elaborate stories from gifted teens and young adults about the paths they have taken—or not taken—in coming to terms with their own high intelligence and abilities. We have learned time and time again that gifted individuals, as unique as each one is, share many thoughts and beliefs when it comes to school, friends, expectations, and life in general. Our hope is that in reading these stories, you will recognize some elements from them in you. We know these teens . . . and we think you should, too.
Even in a world as fast-paced as ours, slowing down to consider the person you are, and the one you hope to become, seems to us a worthwhile task. We hope you agree.