By Dr. Marty Nemko
I don鈥檛 deserve any credit, I just was born this way, to new immigrants, Holocaust survivors just off the boat. We lived in a Bronx tenement. My parents spoke little English, yet I taught myself to read at 3 and was reading on a 12th grade level in the first grade. I taught myself to play the piano on the broken-down piano in the vacant lot near our apartment building. I played over 2,000 gigs before I was 22.
But I could have used a mentor–so that even when I was bullied and teased relentlessly that I could have the support to know that I mattered. That I didn’t have to be like those other kids. That my intellectual abilities were actually an incredible gift.
That鈥檚 why I鈥檇 think I just might have something to offer gifted kids who, in one way or another, don鈥檛 have it so peachy-keen.
You, with your fine intellectual ability, have the luxury of deciding how much you want to fit in and how much you want to choose a road less traveled. Make the decision consciously. You鈥檒l feel better about how you鈥檙e living your life. And remember, that with the additional luxury of youth, if your first guess is wrong, you can pivot or even do a 180鈥攎ultiple times! But each time you try something, you鈥檙e closer to what will feel great. Like the game hot-and-cold.