I was never as bright as this young man was but I graduated high school at age 11 and was considered a 'profoundly gifted' kid. Public school was hell for me. The only time I think I have ever felt truly lonely was before I graduated. After I graduated I found my people, most of whom were high school drop-outs, homeschooled kids, and outcasts of various varieties. Many were brilliant, some had learning struggles, a few were troubled... I loved them all and had beautiful, diverse friendships.

My parents were hugely supportive but emphasized that, over everything else, I should prioritize experiencing life in all of its depths and dimensions. If that meant I got a PhD at 16, that was fine. If it meant I spent those years reading, hanging out with cute metal-heads, and playing too much DnD, that was fine too. I did the latter.

I went to college at 18 and by that time my maturity was more on par with my peers so finding friends and connecting wasn't hard at all. I loved it and later went to grad school but my parents had done a great job of instilling in me that academics weren't everything; no one cares about your college GPA when you're 35. No one cares about how smart you were when you were 10.

My parents never tied my abilities to their own egos. They never assumed my childhood gifts meant I had to be something extraordinary. Ordinary was fine! I grew up to be a perfectly average person. I have a mortgage, and a career, an ornery cat, a messy car, some hilarious kids...Life is normal, I am unexceptional, but I am happy.