# Anyone else not naturally exceptional at anything?



## GeomTech (Sep 29, 2015)

I like coding; I spend hours and hours messing around with code, but it just seems that I'm not a natural at it. It's even taking me a long time to make a simple Javascript calculator with one input box, 12 buttons, etc. I've only been learning Javascript/HTML/CSS for around 1-2 months, but if I was a whiz, I would surly be able to make games, and animations at this point. However this isn't the case. Although I enjoy coding, it can get really annoying very quickly. Stupid errors and typos frustrate me, but I just can't stop coding. I do it everyday. I even failed the "fizzbuzz" problem for Javascript. I was so close. I forgot to add the else statement at the end that tells the loop to display numbers that aren't multiples of 3, 5, or 15 as normal numbers. Any other coders out there? Did coding come naturally to you? How did you boost your problem solving skills? How long does it take till you no longer have to rely on references for coding to build something of your own? When building simple applications, I have to refer to the w3schools website for more information and help.


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## uglyaznboi72 (Jan 10, 2016)

just keep doing whatever it is that you're doing and you'll get good at it, honey .. i like to code myself, as long as you actually like it, and keep doing it, i'm sure you'll get better .. the thing is to ENJOY it


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## GeomTech (Sep 29, 2015)

Buckyx said:


> maybe you are good at something useless for you lol


How do you find out what useless thing you are good at? Not sure what would come out of it.


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## GeomTech (Sep 29, 2015)

uglyaznboi72 said:


> just keep doing whatever it is that you're doing and you'll get good at it, honey .. i like to code myself, as long as you actually like it, and keep doing it, i'm sure you'll get better .. the thing is to ENJOY it


Thanks man. What languages are you learning?


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## Persephone The Dread (Aug 28, 2010)

lol we get a lot of these threads. Yeah I'm not. I feel the same about almost everything I do.

note: I don't do any programming now unfortunately.

I only studied basic programming (lol literally visual basic so yeah practically a toy) in college (that's not uni btw it's something else here 16-18 years old,) I didn't struggle with that and I was better than most of the other students only because they really didn't give a ****. They kept wanting to copy my work and one time we had this exam and half of them copied each other and had to retake it because it was obvious to our teacher. I felt so sorry for him lol this was like the worst bunch of students lmao. But yeah just illistrating how low the bar was there.

I really struggled with all the maths related stuff I had to do using different number systems though, some were OK but there was this one test I had to redo five times, and have private one on one help outside class in the end, before I finally passed that. So that's pretty fail.


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## 2Milk (Oct 29, 2014)

GeomTech said:


> I like coding; I spend hours and hours messing around with code, but it just seems that I'm not a natural at it. It's even taking me a long time to make a simple Javascript calculator with one input box, 12 buttons, etc. I've only been learning Javascript/HTML/CSS for around 1-2 months, but if I was a whiz, I would surly be able to make games, and animations at this point. However this isn't the case. Although I enjoy coding, it can get really annoying very quickly. Stupid errors and typos frustrate me, but I just can't stop coding. I do it everyday. I even failed the "fizzbuzz" problem for Javascript. I was so close. I forgot to add the else statement at the end that tells the loop to display numbers that aren't multiples of 3, 5, or 15 as normal numbers. Any other coders out there? Did coding come naturally to you? How did you boost your problem solving skills? How long does it take till you no longer have to rely on references for coding to build something of your own? When building simple applications, I have to refer to the w3schools website for more information and help.


Most people even very intelligent people don't magically know stuff. It seems like it, but often times it's not the case. They often put hours upon hours to master what ever they do. Smart people will tell you "I learned this stuff in a week" but what they don't tell you is that they put 18 hours of work each day in order to learn it in a week.


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## funnynihilist (Jul 29, 2014)

I dont find anything to be all that exciting. I can't get any passion going.


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## GeomTech (Sep 29, 2015)

2Milk said:


> Most people even very intelligent people don't magically know stuff. It seems like it, but often times it's not the case. They often put hours upon hours to master what ever they do. Smart people will tell you "I learned this stuff in a week" but what they don't tell you is that they put 18 hours of work each day in order to learn it in a week.


Yeah. You're probably right. The only problem I have is remembering some html tags and Javascript functions; and some stuff for java as well. I just don't have good working memory or something. Because I can sit for hours making some application and the next day, I forget a Javascript function or some newly learned html tag. However, I do have a decent understanding of how Javascript/HTML/CSS are meshed together to make a webpage. At times, programming seems like writing to me; I'm ok at writing but it takes me a while to write an essay or something. I don't know why I'm so slow at learning.


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## uglyaznboi72 (Jan 10, 2016)

"Thanks man. What languages are you learning?"

i learned the C and C++ programming languages in my earlier years of college (but i kinda forgot the language so i need to relearn it), right now i've been tapping into some HTML, CSS, Javascript, and i've just started taking this PHP course .. also learning some visual basic and Java too .. i do prefer HTML, CSS and Javascript, since i am creating webpages ..


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## Karaleigh (Jun 14, 2015)

I don't think I am good at anything in particular. I've come across a few areas where I have done well and done better than other things, but I don't have one thing that people recognise me for. For example, I had a friend who played piano very well and people knew that and that's what she was known for amongst her friends, my boyfriend codes and is going into software development and everyone knows him for it, everyone asks him questions about it etc. But when I ask people what I am good at, no one comes up with an answer.. it's usually the "you're good at a lot of things". 

But like what other people say, you need to just put hours and hours of work into it. If you are slow to learn/remember, put more hours in. If you truly love what you do, you wont feel like you're putting work in and it'll just feel like you're learning and spending time doing something fun. 

I remember in college, I would spend my break times and lunch times rewriting a law textbook - not making notes, I would literally write it out word for word in my notebook. I enjoyed it and learning it was fun, but the only way I would be able to remember was to remember it word for word - I'm not good at doing notes because my memory makes it hard to understand what the note is relating to. I know where I suffer with learning and I change how I learn. My tutors weren't always happy about it, but I got A*s in every essay I handed in. 

So don't worry about the way you learn, it doesn't actually matter to anyone, just keep putting the hours in and enjoy it.

Specific to coding, my boyfriend has dyslexia and often makes mistakes. It just means that he has to go over and over everything he has done and triple check it. I don't know much else, but I would just advise you to take it slow and recognise where you usually make mistakes and then make sure you check over your work (paying attention to where you usually make mistakes) before submitting it (or whatever).


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## Ominous Indeed (Sep 6, 2015)

Persephone The Dread said:


> lol we get a lot of these threads. Yeah I'm not. I feel the same about almost everything I do.
> 
> note: I don't do any programming now unfortunately.
> 
> ...


Number systems are not hard!

Bad teacher.


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## Persephone The Dread (Aug 28, 2010)

Demon Soul said:


> Number systems are not hard!
> 
> Bad teacher.


Nah he was actually a pretty good teacher. I had suffered from an abysmal maths teacher for several years before that though and never had any innate ability in the subject. I think I was struggling with hexadecimal multiplication and/or division specifically.


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## vsaxena (Apr 17, 2015)

"Übung macht den Meister" ~ Practice makes perfect.

Keep at it. I got a natural talent for writing, but it still took ten+ years of struggling and practicing to learn how to do it on a professional level.

Even those with talent must practice and develop their skills.


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## Ominous Indeed (Sep 6, 2015)

Persephone The Dread said:


> Nah he was actually a pretty good teacher. I had suffered from an abysmal maths teacher for several years before that though and never had any innate ability in the subject. I think I was struggling with hexadecimal multiplication and/or division specifically.


I have actually never done that but the principal is the same for every number system. Once you understand that, things are a piece of cake 

Once you really understand what is happening in our number system, you can apply the same rules to the other and it will work


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## lolelicious (Jan 27, 2016)

I feel you can't truly 'learn' coding and be great at it until you've created a project of your own that is something you are very interested in (like making a game).

I coded for many years in a few languages but I did not feel I was 'good' at it until I made my own game, because it forces you to analyze the way you code and forces you to use comments when you're doing something you're very interested in otherwise you get lost.

Certain code languages are messier and harder to learn(even if the language itself is relatively easy) at first because there's so much random **** going on (PHP, HTML, Javascript are some examples of what I see as 'messy', not including the old procedural languages)
I learned how to do just about anything with Javascript/HTML then moved on to C++, PHP, Java, and C# where there is much more organization and IDEs will help you organize and overview your code

One thing about learning code is to know when to use and NOT use the built-in libraries for functionality. All languages usually have pre-built libraries or namespaces of code already made to make things easier. C# is one that I really dislike most of the libraries except for Lists, because it takes away a lot of understanding away from the coder, other than that I love C# because I can use it to make games in Unity as well as windows applications easily if I wanted to. C++ was my favorite for a while, but to do anything substantial like a huge game (by yourself) then C++ is not really an option if you want a significantly big game.


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## Arbre (Mar 9, 2014)

I don't think I'm talented at anything. At least I haven't found something yet.



Persephone The Dread said:


> lol we get a lot of these threads. Yeah I'm not. I feel the same about almost everything I do.
> 
> note: I don't do any programming now unfortunately.
> 
> ...


You seem to be really good at writing.


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## Persephone The Dread (Aug 28, 2010)

Demon Soul said:


> I have actually never done that but the principal is the same for every number system. Once you understand that, things are a piece of cake


I can't remember any of this now but from what I remember, it was definitely more difficult for me than in binary and octal, for whatever reason.

I am very slow generally. Most people seem to assume I'm intelligent for some inane reason...



Eggshell said:


> I don't think I'm talented at anything. At least I haven't found something yet.
> 
> You seem to be really good at writing.


I wouldn't say so. Definitely not fiction and stuff like that. But I guess with how much I post on this forum, I'd have to improve over time in some way...


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## Wings of Amnesty (Aug 5, 2015)

I don't think something as recent in human history as coding should come naturally to anyone.


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## Arbre (Mar 9, 2014)

Persephone The Dread said:


> I wouldn't say so. Definitely not fiction and stuff like that. But I guess with how much I post on this forum, I'd have to improve over time in some way...


I don't know, I've always thought you were one of the best posters at writing on this forum. You could have a gift and might not be aware of it. With writing stuff like fiction, there are free online intro courses and books you could buy to help you improve.


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## Ominous Indeed (Sep 6, 2015)

Persephone The Dread said:


> I can't remember any of this now but from what I remember, it was definitely more difficult for me than in binary and octal, for whatever reason.
> 
> I am very slow generally. Most people seem to assume I'm intelligent for some inane reason...
> 
> I wouldn't say so. Definitely not fiction and stuff like that. But I guess with how much I post on this forum, I'd have to improve over time in some way...


Well, people are good at different things. You seem to be good at writing to me.

I am bad at writing, my vocabulary is bad(I already knew it). It's tested and proven. I am very bad at remembering words. I am below average.

But on the other hand I am well above average in the logic parts. I remember squares and stuff much easier for some reason. It's also tested btw.

The only thing you need is a good friend you can do a hobby with. Becoming extremely good at something requires much, much hard work, "talent" or not.

It's much more about being able to do something over a longer period of time, than talent.

So if you have a friend and have fun doing that thing with him or her, starting to love the hobby is much easier.


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## Persephone The Dread (Aug 28, 2010)

Eggshell said:


> I don't know, I've always thought you were one of the best posters at writing on this forum. You could have a gift and might not be aware of it. With writing stuff like fiction, there are free online intro courses and books you could buy to help you improve.


I've tried before in the past and I struggle with it a lot. I can literally feel a mental block a lot of the time. I have a lot of motivation issues generally too. Thanks though. It is something I've thought of before, I've tried many things... But I have some fundamental issues.


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## GeomTech (Sep 29, 2015)

lolelicious said:


> I feel you can't truly 'learn' coding and be great at it until you've created a project of your own that is something you are very interested in (like making a game).
> 
> I coded for many years in a few languages but I did not feel I was 'good' at it until I made my own game, because it forces you to analyze the way you code and forces you to use comments when you're doing something you're very interested in otherwise you get lost.
> 
> ...


Well, I made a crappy 3 question calculus quiz (HTML file), an HTML file that computes the average of two numbers, a really crappy derivative calculator (HTML file), and I was making a calculator comparable to the windows calculator app on Windows 10 but I've decided to stop due to the fact that I barely know any JavaScript or JQuery. For Java, I've built a basic binomial calculator, and some other random applications. I like making things here and there, but the only problem that bugs me is the fact that I have to use online resources such as w3schools while making an application or webpage. I feel like I'm cheating, and that I'm supposed to know HTML/CSS/Javascript by heart. Right after I do the practice "Do it yourself" modules on w3schools, and implement the stuff I need to know for my application, the information just disappears from memory. Then, I have to go back and do some rigorous reading on the stuff I forgot. Should I go through a strucutred book like "Eloquent Javscript" or just continue making things? I feel that if I continue making things, the bits and pieces of information I gather from w3schools is just going to elude my memory, and I really won't learn anything at all.


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## thetown (Aug 16, 2014)

For programming, having a competitive math background really gives you an advantage. Yes, lot of programmers brag about knowing like 100 different languages, but just knowing languages isn't even that big of a deal. If you're really good at one language, then learning a second is pretty easy, but the third one will be a piece of cake. What's more important is knowing how to problem solve, and this is where I think math comes in handy. 

I would recommend doing TopCoder, Codeforces, or Project Euler because they're basically programming problems but using math to solve. This will definitely help you in solving problems like "fizzbuzz" (but the problems there are much more interesting 

Answering the question in the title, I am positive that I'm not naturally good at anything. Sometimes I feel like there are a lot of people out there with natural talent, but I hope that I'll try my best at everything that I do.


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## GeomTech (Sep 29, 2015)

Lovecrushed said:


> For programming, having a competitive math background really gives you an advantage. Yes, lot of programmers brag about knowing like 100 different languages, but just knowing languages isn't even that big of a deal. If you're really good at one language, then learning a second is pretty easy, but the third one will be a piece of cake. What's more important is knowing how to problem solve, and this is where I think math comes in handy.
> 
> I would recommend doing TopCoder, Codeforces, or Project Euler because they're basically programming problems but using math to solve. This will definitely help you in solving problems like "fizzbuzz" (but the problems there are much more interesting
> 
> Answering the question in the title, I am positive that I'm not naturally good at anything. Sometimes I feel like there are a lot of people out there with natural talent, but I hope that I'll try my best at everything that I do.


Yeah. You're right. I need to improve my problem solving abilities. I just get overwhelmed and overthink problems. It must be my approach to these problems or something. I mean, I freak out, and I can't think straight. And as for math, I guess i'm ok at it. Not exceptional but maybe above average-ish. Nothing extraordinary.


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## thetown (Aug 16, 2014)

GeomTech said:


> Yeah. You're right. I need to improve my problem solving abilities. I just get overwhelmed and overthink problems. It must be my approach to these problems or something. I mean, I freak out, and I can't think straight. And as for math, I guess i'm ok at it. Not exceptional but maybe above average-ish. Nothing extraordinary.


I would also argue that sometimes overthinking a problem is a good thing. It shows that you are active trying to find different methods when facing a difficult problem, which is a useful skill to have. But, yes overthinking stuff sucks too.

Do you know about the website AoPS by any chance? They have a big community of problem solvers there who are all geniuses. I did math competitions in high school and browsed their site occasionally, but I always regret not spending more time on there. If you're still in high school, this is a really great resource.


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## GeomTech (Sep 29, 2015)

Lovecrushed said:


> I would also argue that sometimes overthinking a problem is a good thing. It shows that you are active trying to find different methods when facing a difficult problem, which is a useful skill to have. But, yes overthinking stuff sucks too.
> 
> Do you know about the website AoPS by any chance? They have a big community of problem solvers there who are all geniuses. I did math competitions in high school and browsed their site occasionally, but I always regret not spending more time on there. If you're still in high school, this is a really great resource.


Well, I mean I'm in AP Calculus BC and I'm a senior. I get mostly C's on the tests, and I don't study much. I probably deserve those scores. The courses on AoPS are rather expensive. I don't think I'll be able to do math competitions. My nervousness would probably hamper my thinking abilities.


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## thetown (Aug 16, 2014)

GeomTech said:


> Well, I mean I'm in AP Calculus BC and I'm a senior. I get mostly C's on the tests, and I don't study much. I probably deserve those scores. The courses on AoPS are rather expensive. I don't think I'll be able to do math competitions. My nervousness would probably hamper my thinking abilities.


I definitely agree with you. Math at school is incredibly boring. They just make you memorize stuff and do a bunch of exercises. I'm a college right now, and similar, the math courses here are super boring. Even though I get like 9 hours of sleep, I always fall asleep in lecture!

High school math competitions can be stressful, but you don't have to physically go to a competition. You can just take a practice test at home in your own time, which is great because you still can learn a lot of stuff from it.

Yeah, the courses on AoPS are pretty expensive, but not a lot of people use AoPS for the classes though. The heart of AoPS is the Forum, where users know each other and learn from each other. People on there really enjoy doing math, and it's a fun environment for anyone of any skill level.

For example, heres a practice math competition type of test. There's no calculus, so don't worry about that haha. No calculator though
https://www.artofproblemsolving.com/wiki/index.php?title=2015_AMC_10A_Problems

For me, math competitions were what made me love math, not whatever school has taught me.


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## StephCurry (Jan 11, 2016)

I naturally suck at everything. Close enough?


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## GeomTech (Sep 29, 2015)

Lovecrushed said:


> I definitely agree with you. Math at school is incredibly boring. They just make you memorize stuff and do a bunch of exercises. I'm a college right now, and similar, the math courses here are super boring. Even though I get like 9 hours of sleep, I always fall asleep in lecture!
> 
> High school math competitions can be stressful, but you don't have to physically go to a competition. You can just take a practice test at home in your own time, which is great because you still can learn a lot of stuff from it.
> 
> ...


What kind of math do you take in college? Multivariable Calculus? Linear Algebra? Topology? Number Theory? Alegebraic Geometry? Lie Algebra? As interesting as those topics are, I think I would have quite a bit of trouble with them.


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## GeomTech (Sep 29, 2015)

chefcurry said:


> I naturally suck at everything. Close enough?


That may be true, but don't you have something that you enjoy doing?


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## StephCurry (Jan 11, 2016)

GeomTech said:


> That may be true, but don't you have something that you enjoy doing?


Not anymore. Used to like basketball but find it hard to enjoy when I play nowadays.


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## GeomTech (Sep 29, 2015)

chefcurry said:


> Not anymore. Used to like basketball but find it hard to enjoy when I play nowadays.


Why do you find it hard to enjoy nowadays? What happened? Any other activities that you remotely enjoy or have any interest in?


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## thetown (Aug 16, 2014)

GeomTech said:


> What kind of math do you take in college? Multivariable Calculus? Linear Algebra? Topology? Number Theory? Alegebraic Geometry? Lie Algebra? As interesting as those topics are, I think I would have quite a bit of trouble with them.


Currently a freshman, taking linear algebra this semester and finished Multi last semester. I was actually looking forward to those classes, but college math is totally different from high school. It's more about proofs and a lot of abstract stuff.

I'm actually a compsci major, and I'm so glad that linear algebra is the last required math class for me. I would say that they make the beginning math classes really rigorous to weed out the non-math majors.


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## StephCurry (Jan 11, 2016)

GeomTech said:


> Why do you find it hard to enjoy nowadays? What happened? Any other activities that you remotely enjoy or have any interest in?


Nothing in particular happened per se, just over the past half year or so my passion for the sport has been decreasing... as has my joy in any activity. So unfortunately, there is nothing that interests me. 
I feel extremely apathetic and I really believe that there is no point in anything I do.


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## GeomTech (Sep 29, 2015)

Lovecrushed said:


> Currently a freshman, taking linear algebra this semester and finished Multi last semester. I was actually looking forward to those classes, but college math is totally different from high school. It's more about proofs and a lot of abstract stuff.
> 
> I'm actually a compsci major, and I'm so glad that linear algebra is the last required math class for me. I would say that they make the beginning math classes really rigorous to weed out the non-math majors.


How far did you get in high school mathematics? I hope I'll be able to handle linear algebra and multivariable calculus when I'm in college.


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## thetown (Aug 16, 2014)

GeomTech said:


> How far did you get in high school mathematics? I hope I'll be able to handle linear algebra and multivariable calculus when I'm in college.


Same as you. took BC, stats... My school also offered multivariable, but I wanted to take other classes I was interested in, and I also knew that college wouldn't accept the multi calc credit so I didn't take it.

You would probably handle linear algebra and multi well. I'm just a really lazy person in general and suck at time management so college for me hasn't been a smooth ride.

What major are you possibly thinking of doing?


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## GeomTech (Sep 29, 2015)

Lovecrushed said:


> Same as you. took BC, stats... My school also offered multivariable, but I wanted to take other classes I was interested in, and I also knew that college wouldn't accept the multi calc credit so I didn't take it.
> 
> You would probably handle linear algebra and multi well. I'm just a really lazy person in general and suck at time management so college for me hasn't been a smooth ride.
> 
> What major are you possibly thinking of doing?


Information Technology or Computer Science. AP Stat is pretty interesting. I kinda like it.


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## SwtSurrender (Nov 24, 2014)

I think you can be naturally exceptional at something or if you practice at it or sometimes it comes naturally which is a skewed phenomenon. Social anxiety and depression and other stuffs can get in your way and shrivel you up into nothing. But if you practice to unshrivel then you can get out and become something. My dad's a coder, he is very uhm isolated and hallucinating so maybe that's why he chose this isolating career. You can really see the limit people place on themselves regarding their careers. Sometimes an introvert with/without SA will get a social career and an extrovert with/without SA will get an isolated career. I think to be exceptional at anything you do comes from practicing and having an open mind that you can change and be better at it.

My dad beat the multiplication table in me in 4th grade until I started pulling my own hair. It was so stressful but knowing the **** helped me so much in high school and college! And before that in 4th grade I was always failing at it because it wasn't beaten in me yet! But after it was I was a natural! Even in 5th grade I was surrounded by smart kids in my class and I was so shocked at how smart they were. They weren't many but few, about 3 in all my classes! Some were nice and friendly but one of them was talking **** about how I stole his answers! But it was a group work, of course I can steal your answers baby! Poor kid, 5th grade smart *** bully. Yes, he hurt my feelings.

This is video ties in with your practicing mindset.


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