being puzzled and puzzling (long)

I learned to hate the gifted program when I was in sixth grade.

Oh, I liked some things about it...I liked effectively missing a day of school, though the make-up work was always a pain. Classes were offsite, and I liked the bus ride midmorning, which felt like an adventure each Thursday, no matter how many times I'd made the trip. I liked the giant brick building where we had classes with its large oaks framing the entrance, wooden floors, and musty bookish smell, though it was an 'alternative' school and I don't remember ever interacting with any of the school's daily (as opposed to weekly) students, or even seeing them much of the time. They were an invisible majority housed in other wings, other hallways, rumored to exist. That part seemed kind of creepily cool as well.

Here's what I actively hated: not fitting in with the other smart kids. And believe me when I say I did not. ( Read more... )