How Did I Meet My Standards Of Brilliance?

As a kid, I was enrolled in my school system’s Talented and Gifted (TAG) program, which “provides highly motivated, academically gifted students with an opportunity to realize and develop their exceptional intellectual and creative abilities.” I loved TAG. As a proclaimed “talented and gifted” student, it was refreshing to learn in an engaging environment where creative thinking, deep conversations, and real world connections were encouraged. For six years of my early school life, up until I started high school, I was in this type of classroom with some half of the same group of sixty kids. We enjoyed learning and were encouraged to expand our knowledge and critical thinking. We began to believe we were special for being smart and ultimately developed a sense of superiority because of it. We were much too naive

High school, where over six thousand students of all varieties roamed the halls and sat in class. I met lots of people in high school. Specifically, I met Courtney Smith, one of the captains on my swim team. I looked up to her because she was a strong swimmer, a funny girl, and a natural leader, and these were all identities I found appealing. I discovered later that Courtney was taking “Probability in Sports” as her senior year math credit. To me, this came as a shock. How could someone I admired so much not meet my standards of brilliance?

For the first time, I questioned my beliefs. I was conflicted. I had grown up having developed the idea that being smart was the essential factor in life, that nothing more than academics mattered. And yet, Courtney proved otherwise to me. Maybe she was not taking the most challenging courses, but she excelled in a lot of other areas. I came to realize there is more to a person than their apparent intelligence. People are multidimensional, with a variety of skills and passions. Part of my realization was that I, too, am more than just my intellect and can have many facets to my