Gifted VS Smart by Clara

Gifted VS Smart by Clara - June 2016 Scholarship Essay

I have always been thought of as the out-of-the-box, creative child of my peers. The label "gifted" as suited me well over the past 12 years of education, and like most things in my life, has grew and changed with me. When I was in elementary school, being labeled as a gifted student meant I thought differently from my fellow classmates. It even meant I got to leave classes every day to sit in a small room filled with other kids who thought the same way I did. We challenged and motivated each other to keep on growing and expanding our minds with difficult riddles and detailed novels.
My reality was shaken when I entered middle school. As it turns out, there were more gifted children than I thought. Not only was I part of a large amount of "smart" kids, I was struck by the harsh reality that there were kids who were smarter than me. As middle school math class kicked my butt grade-wise, I was taken out of gifted advanced math and put in a standard sixth grade math class. For the first time then I thought I had let myself and my parents down. I felt ordinary and standard.
This happened more and more as I entered high school and dropped more gifted classes for a less intense CP class. I was so hard on myself from such an early age that I thought that I had disappointed my parents. I felt as if I was not the creative and smart student I was led to believe from primary school.
I soon came to the realization that everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. As I compared myself to my peers, I imagine they do the same to me. Not being in all gifted or advanced classes did not make me any less intelligent or less creative. Taking myself out of classes that terrified me was a smart decision my parents chose for me. I have found other ways to challenge myself that does not require a gifted label. I am gifted in so many ways than academically.