<p>Living in Mississippi, perhaps one of the most unintelligent state in the US, makes me feel so intellectually inferior to others such as students who have immense resources like those in California. It just feels like our curriculum is so easy compared to other education systems... or maybe because I'm acing my classes to the point where I don't feel challenged? Anyways, I'm rank 1 out of 327 in my sophomore class, literally make straight 100's in my classes, except three 99's freshmen year and have a 30 (not that high in my opinion, but others in my school would kill for this score) on my ACT. I just feel like I'm do great on tests and memorization. Another reason I feel so inferior is when I compare myself to other high school students: passionate young people at or below the age of 18 participating in the Intel science fair, competing in the USAMO, fundraising literally thousands of dollars for a good cause, being national championship of [insert activity], being a successful young entrepreneur... and the list can go on and on. And when I look at myself, I don't feel accomplished at all nor do I feel as if I'm applying my "knowledge" from school to anything. </p>
<p>Does anyone ever felt this way, and maybe provide suggestions on how to cope with this inferior feeling?</p>
<p>Don’t let anyone make you feel inferior. You’re not inferior. You didn’t choose where you were born - and the state you’re from says little about you. You’re Valedictorian - that’s something to be very proud of. </p>
<p>High school is unchallenging and uninspiring in a lot of places, but there will be resources in college to help you. </p>
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<p>These things are all uncommon in the grand scheme of things.
In any case, there are always going to be people smarter and more accomplished than you, and there’s no point in sitting around feeling inferior to them. </p>
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<p>I don’t meet all that many morons who are awesome at tests and memorization…it’s not like those skills are the opposite of skills that require more intelligence/critical thinking ability. I imagine they often go together.</p>
<p>I used to live in GA and I slept in my classes and still managed to keep my Honors status.</p>
<p>Try not to compare yourself to others, if anything, see those who are “more accomplished” as inspiration and motivation.</p>
<p>The only thing you really and truly can control is how you react to your environment.</p>
<p>Yes, you may be smarter/ better test taker/ whatever you want to call it but just remember that, in reality, life is not all about test scores and grades. That doesn’t mean don’t get good grades and be the best student you can be, but try not to focus only on that aspect of school.</p>
<p>Learning is a journey. Not just academically but personally as well.</p>
<p>[ Used to have the same complex until I moved to California and even then realized that I need to do what makes me happy and what works for me and not worry what others are doing ]</p>
<p>a lot of kids in your position would see hope in college.so what if there’s not that much that stands out about you so far. no accomplishments you can point to that really set you apart, nothing that you’re really passionate about or invested in. all your success is academic and plain. great grades, good test scores, but that’s about it. well that’s just because you live in mississippi like you said. there’s not as much enrichment and encouragement for bright students like you where you live. but by going to college you can go somewhere else, you can meet new friends, it will be totally different and better. you set your sights on being valedictorian in 7th grade, and why not, that’s pretty common for any ambitious student. and you achieved that, but wait, you find you want more, that wasn’t completely satisfying, it was nice, but isn’t there something more you could be doing, something better, something that feels more meaningful. well sure there is, that’s why you’re going to college someplace nice, to find out what that is.</p>
<p>but you don’t feel really sure on that. what if you’re not really that smart and you can’t find what that is or be any good at it? what if this is the best you will ever do, valedectorian at the high school in mississippi will be the crowning academic scholastic achievement of your life. but i think you need to have more confidence. clearly you’re pretty smart, and on top of that (and this is important) you want more than just to collect statuses like valedictorian. that’s awesome and i don’t see why you won’t be able to, you just need to believe in your future, be positive about it, right now it’s a big question mark but it shouldn’t be a daunting one that keeps you up at night thinking, worrying over what it could be like or what it won’t be. you need to wait to meet new kids at college and see what happens. there’s lots of good things that could happen for a kid like you, that’s what i think, and i wish you could be reassured of that.</p>
<p>I get good grades and I’m at the top of my class only because I work my butt off. I admire hard work, but I also envy those who sleep through classes and are still able to get high marks because of their “natural intelligence”. Hard work can’t really alter your thinking capacity, and I’m jealous of those who were born with a greater capacity to think and learn.</p>
<p>Please don’t envy these people. Unless students like this have a serious trust fund to fall back on, they usually hit a point where they sputter out. Having a strong work ethic will take you a lot further, especially since you’ve probably developed mental strategies for getting through situations that seem confusing at first. Creative problem solvers make the world work. We need you.</p>
<p>I’ve never accomplished anything because I procrastinate all the time. I’m not all that smart either, but it wouldn’t matter if I were…I can’t keep my commitments or pay attention to anything. When I have to actually sit down and work on something I usually feel like I’m going insane, even if it’s something I would have liked if it weren’t an assignment. And maybe it’s just senioritis, but I can remember lots of times when this happened even back in middle school. Every day I wake up and tell myself I’ll do something to change it, but I never do. </p>