"Look at my book!"

I first pointed the folded piece of copier paper toward the TV, where I seen my image projected from my Dad's small video camera. Quickly noticing that I had to point the inside of the paper toward the camera, I opened it to show a crayon butterfly and flowers.

I had several of these books, most of which consisted of a cover, an engaging one word story such as "butterfly" or "flower," and the words "The End" printed on the back. The weird thing was I was four years old and already beginning to write. At first, my parents couldn't figure out how I was doing this. Was it Sesame Street?

Due to August and September of 1988 being very hot in our area, my kindergarten class had been moved from a module-style building to a room in the school's main building. About 15 of us shared a large room with 2nd graders on one side and us on the other. I hated taking naps, so I always laid down where I could listen and watch what the older kids were doing. Over time, I gradually picked up on some 2nd grade level English and Social Studies. I've kind of carried this idea my whole life, wanting to seek out people who are ahead of me in some way so I could make my own life better by learning from them.

I struggled in school sometimes, not really in the academic sense but just trying to figure out where I fit in. On a social level, I was a pretty normal kid. I loved video games, pizza, cartoons, and all of the same things most kids my age loved to do and talk about. At the same time, part of my mind functioned more like an adult. I could solve complex problems, "read" people's emotions even if they were trying to hide them, and absorbed and recalled information easily. I honestly just thought it was normal until teachers started saying stuff to me about it.

The school I went to kept testing me and testing me, which was exciting and scary all at the same time. "Gifted" is a whole lot better label to have in school than others, but it comes with its own set of problems. There's a pressure to perform and to try to please the people around you. I had the "what do you want to be?" question thrown at me a lot. Other people always had an opinion, and that just kept me more confused and unsure. I went through stages of different ideas, almost like I was going through the alphabet of what I thought would be fun careers.

I don't know at what point the "you can be anything you want to be" mentality turns into "that won't make you money"

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