... Do I even need to post in this thread? *waves cane*
Most of my memories of childhood are not things I want to remember, really.
Let's just say that a decade of gifted classes and sky-high IQ scores (such bullshit) doesn't necessarily mean you'll do anything productive or useful for yourself or society. I learned way more by getting the hell away from home and getting the hell out of the educational system then I ever did in school or at home... only it was too late and I was already years behind everyone else. Not academically, just in that undefinable way that means that I could have spent the time from when I was 15 to when I was 25 in a coma and probably have been better for the experience.
As an added kick in the teeth, the gifted classes I was in, you know, most of the people I went to school with for years really did grow up to be worth their potential. At 30, they are executives, community activists (the good kind), doctors of international stature, world travellers and other fascinating and exciting things that blow anything and everything I've ever done out of the water. They are golden. I will see them all at a funeral next Thursday, I'm sure it will be fun.
I liked Guild, because I've always been most comfortable going against the grain. If everyone around me is happy, I will look for the bad things that might happen. If everyone around me is unhappy, I try to find reasons for everyone to be cheerful. I've tried to put this to good use, but it just isolates me further.
Actually, it would be very descriptive to say that I've pretty much spent my whole life on the outside, looking in. Still true today.