We had like almost 4,000 people. You're right in that I can't say FOR CERTAIN, because I didn't know many of the younger kids when I was a junior and a senior. Maybe one of those kids would blow me away. I'm basing this conclusion on grades, test scores, standardized tests, but more than anything, my interaction with the other kids. We had a program called 'APEX' for 'smart' kids. They had different teachers, and I wasn't in it because I came in 10th grade. I was obviously on a different level than the kids in the regular AP classes
--- and I have to say this, I'm a competitive person, but you have to be around me to understand it kind of. I understand that sounds really lame and bad, but I want you or anyone else to think as highly of themselves as they can. I almost never tell anyone to think less of themselves. In fact, in HS, I gave out awards - yes this is true - called, 'The Dominator of the Week - for kids in my classes that did better than usual or really put forth an effort. IDK, I have this thing where I really want everyone in a classroom environment to learn and I feel a responsibility to help that if I can... and I think every student should. People actually competed for these awards. If someone beat me on a test when they had been getting C's, they would win and be recognized for it. One kid went from a C student to AP Economics student of the year, in part, at least, because of this. My teachers wanted to put it on the school TV and make it school wide, but it wouldn't be practical because how could I know how the whole school is doing? It was really about my individual interactions. I did my best to make learning and doing well 'cool'.
Anyways, so these kids in APEX thought they were superior as fuck, and there was already the environment that labeled the really intelligent kids before I got there, that was part of the culture at the school... and I wasn't included because I wasn't in APEX. I felt disrespected, so when we all had the same teachers Senior year, we all found out that I was right - none of them were on my level and they all agreed to that. So, that's another thing I base it on: what everyone thought. One of the graduation speeches was about 'Dominating', and I wasn't the one reading it. (My nickname was The Dominator, hence 'The Dominator of the Week' awards). I feel comfortable saying I had a big impact on a lot of the people I had classes with. A lot of people thought I was an asshole in 10th grade, because I was an arrogant dickhead, but it was fun and games by junior and senior year, I didn't pick on kids or something because they weren't smart. I encouraged everyone and tried to cultivate that environment. Teachers loved me for that shit, so I got all kinds of privileges - skip class, don't have to do homework assignments, etc. In 3 of my classes I had a 'B' senior year bc I didn't do a lot of the shit and every single one of them the teacher changed my grade to an A.
Another spurious part of my claim of being the smartest kid in school is that people at that level have different strengths and weaknesses, my strengths just played out really well. I have a lot of respect for some of the other 'elite' kids and still think about them. And some of the people I didn't consider think of as 'elite' are living the best lives right now. One friend, in particular, that I knew really well, but I never thought of her as an intellect. She has truly shown me the power of focus and a positive attitude. Not only did she cure herself of lupus, simply by deciding she didn't have any diseases (mind...blown), but she's now one of the most successful people I know. In fact, I would say she is living the best life of anyone I know. She's happy, focused, making money, loving her life, etc. A couple people make more money than her, but they don't enjoy their lives as much as she does. I'm certainly not on her level now. I'm trying to get there though
All of this can be interpreted as portraying me as a pretentious asshole, but I really don't judge people like that unless they present themselves in a manner to be judged. If you're not making any claims about how you're smarter than this person or how dumb somebody is, I don't think anything about your 'intelligence' in a classroom setting because, for one, that's just one type of intelligence. Not everybody likes that shit, and that's perfectly fine. I just happened to love learning and reading. My two closest friends, one didn't graduate HS, and the other graduated by going to a tech school (basically got kicked out and barely was allowed to walk). What matters in a person to me is decency, honesty, and being authentic to who you are. Hard work and the right mindset will beat raw intelligence most of the time, IMO. I didn't realize that in HS. At that time of my life I was in a classroom, so I focused on the traits valuable in that setting. Since then I've been in many different environments where I'm not the best and I have to learn from others. I know my place.
Another problem I had from this mindset was an attitude of entitlement. Just because I'm 'HUNTERMANIA' I got all this shit for free in HS. I didn't have to do what I didn't want to do, people allowed me free reign. Well, my life got destroyed and I've had to earn every inch of it back, I no longer expect anything for free. I was young then, I've gained a lot of wisdom and perspective in the past 7 years.
Sorry for the crazy long post, just trying to explain it from all relevant angles and explain why I felt that way and how I feel now.
