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People Are Revealing Who Their High School’s “Smartest Kid” Turned Out To Be (20 Stories)
Article created by: Mantas Kačerauskas
Long gone are the days when you have to go to reunions to learn what your former classmates are up to. All you need now is social media. Just log into Facebook, Instagram, or some other platform they're on and stalk away. Many share so much of their personal lives that it makes it quite easy.
So when Reddit user Desperate_Bluejay330 asked people "What happened to the smartest kid at your high school?", the replies immediately started pouring in, reminding us that you never really know what the future holds.
Continue scrolling to check out some of the most interesting stories, and don't miss the talk we had about looking back at your past with licensed clinical psychologist, Michael Stein, Psy.D.
- Read More: People Are Revealing Who Their High School's "Smartest Kid" Turned Out To Be (35 Stories)
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#2
He took 6 years to finish college and graduated with a chemical dependency problem that took another 6 years to get over. He has a low key job now and is reliable, if unremarkable. Some would say he never realized his potential, but he's content and doesn't really care what people say.
#3
He was actually quite overweight. When he left for college, he was studying physics. Couple of years later, I learned that he lost 175 pounds, became super into fitness, dropped out of college and became a gym trainer.
#4
Not my class, like 15 years after I graduated. I visited my hs to see an old teacher who was retiring. While talking to the principle he tells me about this student who was legit one of the most brilliant students the school had had in decades. He wanted to be a chef. (I am one). Cut to the graduation and he is due to give his speech.
The one they approved was totally dropped. He gave a scathing tirade against all the teachers for not supporting him and kept pushing him to not follow his dreams and to just go to regular college. I heard it was brutal.
(Kid had a scholarship to several top culinary programs already, his family owned a successful restaurant).
He is a happy chef. His family doesn’t support the school anymore.
My years smart folks are all married and grandparents by now.
#5
Became a doctor, decided it wasnt for her and went to law school. Is currently a barrister as far as I know.
#6
My best friend was arguably the smartest kid in my school, or one of the smartest. Had a lot of inner demons, passed away young because of those inner demons.
#8
I still talk to him. He's a good friend of mine, still. He's an engineer at Google now. I am not.
#9
She went to college, got her Master's degree, started medical school, got pregnant and has been a stay at home Mom for 20 years.
#10
I was friends with the guy who had the 2nd highest GPA in our class. He created a business renting out and managing office equipment. I lost touch with him, but I just Google his business. It's still open, and he's still the owner, after 15-20 years. Glassdoor says it's worth 5 to 25 million USD.
#11
Went to West Point. Knocked up his girlfriend his junior year, so automatically disqualified from attending (you couldn't have dependents and attend a military academy at the time, not sure if that is still true). Married the girl, got divorced a couple of years later.
Enlisted in the Army to fulfill his service obligation, finally became an officer in his early 30s and is now flying blackhawks. Got remarried and has two kids with the new wife. Seems genuinely happy.
#12
The one older than me went to MIT and then Stanford. He’s doing something tech related in Silicon Valley or something like that.
The one younger than me (and I never knew he was this smart) wound up at Harvard Medical and then was a Fulbright Scholar. He’s a doctor in New England somewhere and his wife is also a Harvard doctor.
#13
Has 6 kids to 5 different fathers & is currently being investigated for massive benefit fraud.
#15
Last I saw our class valedictorian, 40 years ago - when we were about 21, he bragged about he and a couple of friends breaking into a logging company's powder shack to steal the explosives. He was disappointed that they failed to ignite under the bridge they had selected.
It is very depressing to know that I'm stupider than him.
#16
He lives in the same small village he was living in when we were in school, is married with kids and apparently works in an office in the nearest town. He had aspirations of becoming a surgeon when we were in school, it didn't happen, but it sounds like he's living a good life regardless
#17
He was my investment advisor. I wasn’t overly impressed with him but I trusted him. We are all retired now.
#18
He barely graduated due to giving up on public school, joined the army for one term to get out of his rural improvised town. He struggled for 15+ years to make ends meet and at his mid 40s is finally buying a house and is on track to retire at 55.
Being the smartest out of a class of 100 isn't that exceptional.
#19
Completely fell off the radar. I assume he's running some sort of nefarious thinktank for a huge tech company or something.
#20
Professor at Cambridge University
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