2 ms·

i chose not to skip grades and not to go to college early, and looking back, that was probably the right decision for me. i needed the time with peers to mature

i chose not to skip grades and not to go to college early, and looking back, that was probably the right decision for me. i needed the time with peers to mature socially and emotionally before venturing out into the world (i wasn’t a social outcast, so i wasn’t desperate to leave other than out of boredom). that’s not to say that i couldn’t have benefitted intellectually from acceleration. if i could have stayed with peers but had accelerated education, i would have chosen that instead, but it wasn’t an option in my case.

mypalmike 6y ago
I think you're right. I did skip a grade and it was by far the worst mistake of my life. Going from a very well liked 1st grader to an outcast overnight was a crushing blow to my confidence. And it led to about 10 years of being constantly bullied and frequently friendless. While I adjusted fairly quickly to social life in college, it definitely had long term effects on my mental health.