We are the outcaste.
We are the lonely.
We are the different, the strange, the weird.
We are the ones who can't find friends because our definition of friend is not the same as everyone else's.
We are the ones who are misunderstood by our teachers, classmates, and even sometimes by our parents.
We are the ones who take the hardest course available in high school and waltz through it - and get an A.
We are the ones who fail seventh-grade math and ace calculus the next year.
We are the ones who get angry because we missed one question on the English test that we know we knew.
We are the ones who are given busy work so the rest of the 'gifted' class can catch up.
We are the ones to whom the teacher says, "No one ever taught you that before. How would you know?" and then stares at in amazement when we tell her we read a book about it three grades above our reading level a year and a half ago.
We are the ones who fail classes because we are so bored.
We are the ones who fill up our days with Scouts, acting, clubs, musical instruments, singing groups, church, and so many other things in an attempt to be challenged.
We are the ones who are too smart to do drugs and alcohol.
We are the ones who can see both sides of an argument.
We are the ones who don't care about being on good terms with the most popular kid in school.
We are the ones who are whispered about in the halls.
We are the ones who can talk intelligently on the issues of today and mess up on our first date.
We are the ones who get what the teacher says the first time and don't need or want them to repeat it a dozen times.
We are the ones who don't need to spend a month on relearning the Greek gods and goddesses when we learned them and their roles and the myths in a few days.
We are the ones who don't care about makeup at 11, or sports at 9, or cable TV at 14.
We are the ones who would rather save for a new bike than wear fashionable clothes.
We are the ones who would rather be comfortable than wear clothes that everyone else is wearing, and if those two happen to coincide, fine.
We are the ones who make our own choices.
We are the ones who are independent.
We are the ones who are unique.
We are the gifted.
by Erin Price