Some advice for the gifted almost-adult

(This post has been brought to you by spending the past three weeks teaching high-ability students aged 15-17 at CTYI, and lots of chats with their parents about What To Do In College and What Next. Also from ten years of working with gifted students and other such things.)

Hard work will get you further. Hard work is not a sign that you are inadequate or not smart enough. Hard work is often something you are not used to, because you haven’t learned all the learning skills at the right time, because you learned earlier and/or differently to most of your peers. But don’t undervalue it or think it’s indicative of something not being for you.

Find something you’re passionate about. Make it as big a part of your life as you can. But be prepared for the things related to that, or the things that you have to do to facilitate your passion, to be things you don’t 100% love. That’s okay.

You don’t have to give 100% to everything. Adults don’t – and when we try to, it leads to chaos. But this doesn’t mean opting out of everything you don’t love or even like. Maybe there’ll be exams in topics you don’t care about, or assignments you just have to power through. Give yourself a set amount of time to do a good job within, and then move on.

Deadlines are good. They really are. It’s always easy to say something could’ve been better if you’ve had more time. It’s partly why so many people leave things ‘til the last minute. Presume that you are always working within a finite amount of time. For the things that you care about, you’re doing the best you can within the time that you have. That’s all you can do.

Sleep is important. This needs no further explanation.

In much of the working world, your experience matters as much, if not more, than your academic results. Particularly for anyone in the Irish system, which is so wretchedly exam-obsessed, college is a great time to legitimately spend a decent amount of time being involved in societies or clubs or whatever. If you can get part-time work it is also a marvellous thing.

There will always be people better than you. There will be moments when you feel utterly out of your depth. Alarmingly, these are good learning moments. The hard work thing above will get you through a lot of this.

It’s okay to quit something if it’s not for you. It’s okay to quit something if it involves sacrifices you’re not willing to make. Be honest with yourself: are you being scared or lazy or just letting go of something it’s not worth struggling for?

You may hear sometimes about the importance of gifted education in terms of developing talent for industry, or for the good of society. You owe no more to the world than anyone else. Gifted education is first and foremost about providing an appropriate level of education to a group that doesn’t get it in mainstream settings. It is not your job to save the world.

But don’t be complacent. Education should be a right, but it’s not one everyone gets. Even though you probably have a sense of how the world should be, we live in the world as it is. You don’t need to take every opportunity that comes your way, but acknowledge them as opportunities. Choosing between a couple of cool opportunities is a gift, not a dilemma.

You don’t need to go to college, but if you’re the type of person who spent your summers enthusiastically learning as a teenager, you’ll probably find it’s a good fit for you and will help you in the future – whether you go straight out of school or somewhere down the line.

Be nice to your parents, especially if you are planning any kind of career in the arts. (This is good advice for everyone.)

Be kind. (Also good advice for everyone.)

There is no excuse for telling anyone your Leaving Cert results – good or bad – more than a year after the fact. None.