Every high school had that one kid everyone was convinced would go far. They barely seemed to break a sweat over exams, had teachers singing their praises, and looked like they already had their future mapped out while everyone else was still figuring out what they wanted for lunch.
We found stories from former classmates who looked back and learned what became of the kids they once thought had the world at their feet. Grab a snack and scroll down to see how some of these high school stars turned out.
#61
Me. Diagnosed as "gifted" but was never diagnosed with depression, ADHD, and anxiety at the time as I should have been (those diagnoses came much, much later). Instead of doing something I enjoyed, I pursued a STEM degree because I figured I was capable. I soon discovered I was wrong; I never needed study skills in high school so I never developed them. Earned my degree by the skin of my teeth, ended up with a job I was not passionate about, got laid off from said job when work was outsourced overseas, and now I'm chronically underemployed and broke as a joke, because my neurodivergence makes finding a job difficult.
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3points
#62
Valedictorian became a journalist
Salutatorian got an engineering PhD super smart woman
#3 was me. I’m just a regular old engineer.
Salutatorian got an engineering PhD super smart woman
#3 was me. I’m just a regular old engineer.
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3points
#63
She became a really great surgeon with a beautiful family. Brains and beauty.
Another guy went to MIT, top scorer and all, accepted into a really prestigious job. Quit a couple years later and became a motivational speaker. Albeit a not very successful one.
Another guy went to MIT, top scorer and all, accepted into a really prestigious job. Quit a couple years later and became a motivational speaker. Albeit a not very successful one.
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3points
#64
The top student two classes in front of me proclaimed they were going to medical school. They’re a drag queen now.
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3points
#65
There were two people in my high school who both were pretty much equal in terms of academic performance. One went to Columbia University and later became a teacher. The other went to UC Berkeley and did comedy.
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3points
#66
Valedictorian. Scientific genius. Passed away a few years ago because of cancer. He didn't even finish his degree that he got a full scholarship with.
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3points
#67
There was this one girl who barely spoke in class but always scored perfect on everything. Last I heard she became a professor at some Ivy League school. Kinda wild how some people just keep climbing while others plateau right after graduation.
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3points
#68
The guy who was always at the top of our class, like you could pretty much guarantee his name would be number one. Sadly, his parents couldn’t afford to send him to college, so now he’s working at a convenience store.
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2points
#69
Had a classmate who was our valedictorian. She was crazy smart and everyone thought she’d be super successful. Last I heard, she’s in a mental health facility because the pressure and reality of life got to her. She didn’t even finish college. Kinda crazy how life turns out—she was literally the last person I expected to struggle like that.
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2points
#71
Worked for a hedge fund out of college and bought bitcoin early. Got fired from his hedge fund, and became a crypto coin advisor for banks and funds. He gets paid like a hundred thousand dollars to come and give a multiday presentation to some entity and then takes weeks off and does it again. He's got a small office in silicon valley with a bunch of people making charts and graphs and he can pick them up pretty quickly, but mostly he just spends time with his kids.
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2points
#72
My high school class was huge. Lots of high performing kids.
A few went to Harvard, more to other Ivy Leagues. A lot went to Stanford and Berkeley because they’re kinda local.
Some made it in law, tech, or other ventures. Some are deceased, in prison, or disappeared. I met one guy on a pre-bid walk for a construction project. He had joined the military and then bounced from job to job around the country because he could never get on his feet after the ‘08 crash like many of us. Doing ok. I saw a girl I used to like was in some Netflix pilots, but her acting career never went anywhere.
I figured out something recently. Something about intelligence that has bugged me for a very long time. I was bored and waiting for my kid to finish a class, so I downloaded a puzzle game. I had an idea of a set of rules for how to complete the puzzles, but then I started clearing them in seconds. I switched to the hardest puzzles and I could just see the solutions without much time or effort. I’ve always been a deliberative type, so this flow state was a rare experience for me.
Is this what it’s like for the smart kids? They learn the outline in class and then start blowing through all the problems until they get to the more advanced material? And they don’t often need to really think about it? I think maybe someone can have too much inner world and it holds them back, while some other people have fewer distractions. I don’t know.
Intelligence is not simple. You don’t have a smartest and dumbest in your class. Only performance and outcomes. A lot of people just aren’t where they need to be, or aren’t getting what they need, because our world is built for one narrow type of person and even many of those fail as they grow up and fall out of the favored mould. There are so many ways to not be the “smart kid” and so few to get yourself into a place where you can perform.
A few went to Harvard, more to other Ivy Leagues. A lot went to Stanford and Berkeley because they’re kinda local.
Some made it in law, tech, or other ventures. Some are deceased, in prison, or disappeared. I met one guy on a pre-bid walk for a construction project. He had joined the military and then bounced from job to job around the country because he could never get on his feet after the ‘08 crash like many of us. Doing ok. I saw a girl I used to like was in some Netflix pilots, but her acting career never went anywhere.
I figured out something recently. Something about intelligence that has bugged me for a very long time. I was bored and waiting for my kid to finish a class, so I downloaded a puzzle game. I had an idea of a set of rules for how to complete the puzzles, but then I started clearing them in seconds. I switched to the hardest puzzles and I could just see the solutions without much time or effort. I’ve always been a deliberative type, so this flow state was a rare experience for me.
Is this what it’s like for the smart kids? They learn the outline in class and then start blowing through all the problems until they get to the more advanced material? And they don’t often need to really think about it? I think maybe someone can have too much inner world and it holds them back, while some other people have fewer distractions. I don’t know.
Intelligence is not simple. You don’t have a smartest and dumbest in your class. Only performance and outcomes. A lot of people just aren’t where they need to be, or aren’t getting what they need, because our world is built for one narrow type of person and even many of those fail as they grow up and fall out of the favored mould. There are so many ways to not be the “smart kid” and so few to get yourself into a place where you can perform.
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2points
#73
Our valedictorian was a Filipino girl. She became a nurse... and ended up married a rich Jewish doctor.
So she's doing well!
So she's doing well!
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2points
#74
Two girls who were super competitive. Used to cry for missing even one mark, during 5,6,7,8 grades.
Always the toppers.
We all thought they will become very famous doctors or scientists.
For the 11th and 12th grades they both went to a top private school in the region while most of all studied in Aided or government schools.
Something happened there or after their 12th.
Nobody heard from them as much as we thought we would, especially after their 12th grade, being atleast district toppers or such.
One of them as far as we know , works in a local bank, as a regular bank employee. No idea about what the other person is doing.
They didn’t show up for school reunion.
I met one of them while walking by the road. I smiled at her but she didn’t even recognise me.
So sort of crashed from their great trajectory and promise they showed during the school days.
On the other hand, the so called academic laggards from school are doing pretty well socially, financially and is super active still in school WhatsApp groups.
I am kind of a middle in all of this. .
Always the toppers.
We all thought they will become very famous doctors or scientists.
For the 11th and 12th grades they both went to a top private school in the region while most of all studied in Aided or government schools.
Something happened there or after their 12th.
Nobody heard from them as much as we thought we would, especially after their 12th grade, being atleast district toppers or such.
One of them as far as we know , works in a local bank, as a regular bank employee. No idea about what the other person is doing.
They didn’t show up for school reunion.
I met one of them while walking by the road. I smiled at her but she didn’t even recognise me.
So sort of crashed from their great trajectory and promise they showed during the school days.
On the other hand, the so called academic laggards from school are doing pretty well socially, financially and is super active still in school WhatsApp groups.
I am kind of a middle in all of this. .
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1point
#75
He is a cardiologist, sadly his dad said “my son’s will always be doctors” so I don’t think he had much of a choice. I remember he got in trouble for getting a B+ in a college math course while he was a sophomore in high school.
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1point
#77
She was this math genius and was taking classes at MIT while we were all learning calc. Last time I checked, she is currently navigating supervised release after serving some time in federal prison. She was in the news a few years ago (there were reporters at our 10 year high school reunion actually) for helping her ex-boyfriend "accidentally" misplace $8 billion in customer funds at their cryptocurrency trading firms. She got a reduced sentence for serving as a star witness against her ex in the federal case.
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0points
#78
We graduated HS in 1997. She graduated valedictorian. She went off to college with a full ride. Came back home for Thanksgiving 97. Hung herself from the ceiling fan in her old bedroom. We all have our theories but we think she let her grades slide after moving the violent lifestyle. And her strict Indian American parents didn't approve.
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-1point
