Quote:
Originally Posted by Secretum
It's ridiculous that they wouldn't let you move ahead two years! Though I suppose that if they had, you would have differed from your peers in both intelligence and age... It's too bad that you couldn't have gone to a magnet school for gifted students. What are you getting your PhD in?
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Yeah, my parents were pretty irritated about that! But I was socially odd enough that it would have been even more difficult if I were the youngest one around (and still outperforming my "peers"...)
We didn't have magnet schools. I did participate in a lot of gifted/talented programs in my school district, though - one of the benefits of being in a mid-sized town with a good university nearby was some great enrichment programs, to which I credit my long-term interest in math and science (ended up getting a BA in math even though it was my hardest subject!)
My PhD will be in Information Science & Technology. It's interdisciplinary social science, so extra soul-searching and flailing about to find your way is required. But it's been great for me. Difficult as all hell, but great.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Secretum
I'm glad that your social life has sorted out over time. I differ from my peers in so many respects that I don't think mine ever will. But I have set a goal to be *less* lonely. Maybe I can at least achieve that. And maybe it will be enough.
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It really did seem like it took forever, but there's always hope. I'm definitely an oddball even among the slightly eccentric smart kids. Academia is known for being full of crazies, but I haven't actually encountered very many. Or at least, not very many individuals who are "out" as having MI. Nobody talks about it without a drink or two in them, and it's almost always anxiety or depression, which is hardly surprising given how unrewarding and downright grueling the academic life is. Not to belittle those conditions, because I fully understand just how crippling they can be, but it's hard for them to relate to my issues.
I'd really like to be more open about being bipolar, because I think most of the people I know would be fairly accepting, but I'm still a bit leery of others' reactions. I've had so many people give me that "oh but you seem so successful/happy/productive" line so many times, which I find insulting because it invalidates my suffering, although I know that's not what they intend. I just don't like feeling like I have to hide something that is a huge part of who I am.
