Screen cap instead of QT because this person seems like they are Going Through It, but it really feels like the most annoying part of the Gifted Kid Discourse is people thinking it was the programs themselves that fucked them up.

I say this as a Former Gifted Kid Who Burned Out but I'm pretty sure I would also have ended up unhappy if I'd stayed in regular classes. Trying to give me more challenging work because I was bored in class was not the reason my life turned out this way.

I don't think gifted programs are perfect, but the higher expectations that were laid on me 100% came from my parents, not the school district, the district would have been happy to switch me back to regular classes if I was struggling academically.

Anyway I know that people who were *maybe* emotionally hurt by overbearing parents are sometimes reluctant to look at that as a reason for things because we know our parents loved us and wanted the best for us... but that's far more the likely culprit

TL/DR, your second grade teacher who saw you reading at a fifth grade level and thought you could use some more challenging school work to keep you from getting bored did not irrevocably fuck up your life.

Just to add (because this meme is apparently what started the latest round of The Discourse) the expectations and disappointment here are entirely your own mind trap that you can escape, either on your own or with the help of therapy.

A disappointment to who, exactly? Your gifted and talented teachers don't care. Maybe your parents do, but it's your life, not theirs.

You're an adult now. Set your own dreams and goals, and work towards those.

Whatever your mental health problems are (hi, I have PTSD), there is a 95% chance they didn't stem from your school's gifted and talented program and Other Factors are at work.

So, like, stop blaming all your problems and frustration on that?