People Explain How The Smartest Person From School Turned Out
Reddit user After_Crab_1921 asked: 'What happened to the smartest kid in your class?'
Every high school had the popular girl, the favorite jock, the weird kid, and the smart kid. Whether or not they were the weirdest or the smartest, the population always seems to come to an agreement about who should carry the title.
But sometimes what the smartest kid in school winds up doing with their life isn't what everyone might have expected.
Or, they might excel beyond even their peers' wildest dreams.
Redditor After_Crab_1921 asked:
"What happened to the smartest kid in your class?"
That Darn Mind-Gut Connection
"He got sick with a rare stomach disease and isn't doing too well."
- VoxMendax
"So, ironically, the smartest kid in our class was me (the bar was low) and my sisters and I all have a rare stomach thing."
"I presented first, got the shish-kabob treatment, and had a very sucky five years. Then it stopped, right around the time my older sisters started dealing with it."
"It will rear its head every few years for a month or just a weekend but overall I’m completely unaffected now (either that or my ability to adjust to a baseline is way op) but my sisters both deal with it daily."
"Their symptoms are less than I went through but have stuck around longer, I figure I speedran it on hard mode."
- Mimovich
"The stomach is closely tied to the brain. (Believe it or not)."
"Kids who underperform or overperform are often under extreme stress at home, and as a result are more likely to develop diseases related to the gut."
"It's a weird thing that has actual scientific studies going into it."
- Character_Tower_3893
Going Above and Beyond
"I believe he works for NASA."
"He deleted his Facebook a while ago (like the smartest kid in our class would do), but that’s what he was doing last I checked."
- gingeritis90
Double the Smarts
"There were two. They were twins."
"They're both geneticists now with PHDs, and they work at the same university."
- iARTthere4iam
It's Not Rocket... Oh, Wait.
"The smartest guy from my high school became an actual rocket scientist."
- TheKaptinKirk
Invented Themselves
"The smartest kid in my school was really popular and was one of my closest friends."
"But when he graduated he left everyone and everything behind, including his family. He even changed his name."
"I found out this little bit of information because a friend went to an academic conference and showed me a group photo and he was in it."
"I exclaimed, 'That’s my friend Pascal!' He kept his first name but his last name was an anagram of his original name."
- whittlingcanbefatal
"I knew a guy who did this! He was one of my best friends' older brothers. He got a degree in German and moved to South Korea for a little while."
"Next thing we knew, he had moved back to his native state but to a small town and had taken on a whole new persona. Different name and all. Apparently, he spoke with a German accent in his new life."
"We met a guy who only knew him as the new version. That conversation was wild."
- Zebulon_V
Too Tragic to Imagine
"He got a full ride to Harvard."
"He did an internship his first summer at Intel and was killed by a drunk driver a few weeks after arriving in California."
"I f**king couldn’t believe it when it happened 25 years ago. I still can’t really."
- bg-j38
Successful Careers
"There are two. I remember one of them crying when they got an A- on a test in seventh grade."
"One of them (the one who cried) is an executive in a Fortune 500 company. Nothing special but making a lot of money."
"The other one is a brain surgeon."
- iamacannibal
Important Medical Research
"She worked at John’s Hopkins doing research with Psilocybin for treating mental health conditions."
- ActorMonkey
Making Big Moves
"He moved to Poland and became a Molecular Biologist."
- AJCleary
Happy Ending for the Gamer
"He went to MIT, works for Apple, and has a very expensive home in California. He also has a wife and four kids and seems to be very happy."
"I remember he was programming games in high school and was valedictorian."
"A big nerd who became a wealthy big nerd."
- BullHorn100
A Unique Trajectory
"My best friend (at the time; we drifted apart and speak only rarely now). He got a Ph.D. at Harvard, studied science in Antarctica, and now teaches at an Ivy League university."
- TriTri14
Eternally Confident
"He's a superstar pediatric neurosurgeon."
"He's also the most confident person I’ve ever met. (Guess you’d have to be, to cut open a little kid’s skull and operate on their brain.)"
- Rainpickle
"I saw some interview during a documentary when a surgeon said something to the effect of, 'Yeah, I come off arrogant at times, but do you want a surgeon who’s not extremely confident in their abilities?'"
- followedbyferrets
"The gift is self-awareness here. I’d trust him with my life."
- Hormone_Monster69
"Yep. There's an infinite difference between narcissism and actual confidence."
- adamjfish
Going Down Different Paths
"I had such a big crush on her and told her."
"We dated, and then she moved across the country to study and is now a Doctor."
"I'm so proud of her even though our lives changed paths."
- No-Plantain8212
An Honest and Kind Life
"He dropped out of college to marry and support the much younger woman he got pregnant (he was 23 and she was 18, but he clearly loved her)."
"Now (30 years later), he owns a boardgame store with a large back room for mini painting classes and games, and he plays dad to half the neurodivergent kids in town."
"He's still married to the same woman, too."
"It's not a high-flying life, but he makes a difference to so many people."
- Yinnesha
Best Friends Forever
"He just accepted a full professorship at a big university in the States. He's a particle physicist."
"He's also my bestie."
- wscuraiii
While the nerds and the smart kids often get a bad rap during middle school and high school, it's wonderful to see how being true to their minds and their passions could truly pay off in the end.
People are who they are... but some can change. Those troubled youths who made life miserable for many in the adolescent years can take a turn for the better.. or the worse. Not all "problem children" stay problem children, some go on to find inner peace and meaning and others become stars on episodes of "Dateline NBC." Its all a gamble. Fr everybody. No one is perfect.
Redditor 11simon18 wanted to hear about the growth or disaster of the students who caused the most chaos by asking....
What happened to your school "bad boy/girl"?
"bad boy"
GiphyHe wasn't the quintessential "bad boy" but did drugs, drank, got arrested for drugs, total partier.
Always nice to me and we were friendly but that whole scene just wasn't my thing.
That was 1981 and up until 2013 wondered whatever happened to him.
Found out my daughter's new boyfriend was his son!!
I was very relieved to find out that shortly after high school he realized he was going nowhere fast, cleaned himself up and started a successful business.
Thrilled to say that my husband and I share 2 beautiful grandchildren with he and his wife and I couldn't be more happy about it! uuendyjo
At 30....
School "bad boy" when I was there was my older brother. (Drug dealer, played in a metal band, general smarty pants and moron.) He flunked out of college after two semesters and has been waiting tables since then. He turns 30 this year, and the girl he's dating now is the first one who's stayed with him for more than six months.
She's super cool, actually, but like 5 years younger than him. They have a couple dogs, smoke a lot of weed, and play a lot of DND.
Last I heard from him, he was escalating a feud with his neighbor by putting a plate and a half worth of loose, cooked spaghetti in her mailbox. Sethrial
At Gun Point....
The one that comes to mind forced his ex at gun point into his car and then drove to another state. Cops eventually caught up with them and then he shot himself in the car. I feel really bad for the girl. CuppaSunPls
Will?
GiphyThat was me. I went to live with my uncle, he spent about 5 years intensively working with me and now I'm good. Nice guy. I still live near him and call him 'dad'. Will buy him beer. throwawaysmetoo
Gothed.
She was a bit of a goth. Smoked in front of the school. Smoked pot behind the gym. Graduated valedictorian, went to Stanford on a full ride scholarship. sternje
I don't think being goth and smoking cigarettes and pot make her a bad girl, that just seems like an awkward teenager trying to find their style while doing the same things that most teenagers experiment with.
By the way, our school also had a goth girl, all black everyday except the neon green streak in her hair, smoked a lot of cigarettes and graduated with a 4.0+ GPA. wkndgolfer
God has a Way....
GiphyNot sure how this happened, but there were 3 "bad boys" on our football team, all players and all very good looking. They cussed, drank, smoked all the time, and were constantly getting laid (or at least telling everyone they were).
Right around senior year/college they each went through some change and are all now born again Christians. No partying, less cussing, and none of them talk about women in an objectifying way. It's great but kinda unnerving in a way. slothbarns7
Roundabouts only go one way.
Two died of opioid overdoses and the third died in a front end collision while doing donuts in a roundabout. MrCoffeeNerves
A front end collision into what? Roundabouts only go one way. And getting into a lethal accident with any vehicle entering it or attempting to enter it is kind of extremely difficult to do. Private_Colceri
Better Now....
I was the bad girl, I was very academically gifted, but had a bad home life, so I smoked (cigarettes & weed), drank a fair bit of vodka, basically did everything I could to rebel against authority, I once threw a jar of blood on the principal (animal blood, long story).
Ended up getting kicked out, spent two years on the streets with a bad drug habit & surviving through sex work. Had a massive OD turned my life around, worked in transport/ logistics.
Now at 30 I'm at university, studying computer science/ engineering. I'll be 34 when I graduate. Dyingforsomelove
Fires Everywhere.....
GiphyNot quite the bad boy, actually everyone thought he was "Goody Two-Shoes..." Turns out he had some of the worst grades in school, was a serial arsonist, and when he was caught attempted suicide. Haven't heard from him since but he made the news with one of his fires. :/ kerouacdesbois
Which one?
Which one? One became a serial killer. My wife dated him before all that. One's doing life for a contract killing. Three are dead, they were bangers. Two are in mental wards. I was a hood, banger back in the late 80's early 90's. Grew up in New Mexico.
There were very few of us that became productive members of society. I got caught for B&E. Judge gave me a choice. Jail or Job Corps. I took the latter. Met my wife shortly after. And she taught me what it means to be a real man, father, human being. IAmTeaBag4
Egg it...
GiphyHe's an eggplant farmer. Literally. AbsurdBird_
Definitely a quiet lifestyle, I can respect it. Quibilia
Taco Bell Sorry...
My biggest bully in middle/high school ended up going to prison. Funny thing though, my mom worked in that prison, and they got to know each other. When he got out, he found me and apologized. He later got a job at a local Taco Bell, and whenever I came in he would always add a bunch of free stuff to my order.
I haven't seen him in almost 2 decades, but I know he became a dad. I actually hope he's doing well.
Edit: Just looked him up. Had 3 kids, a wife, and is a contractor now. I'm glad he turned it around.
Edit 2: wow. Just checked in on this a day later, and my comment blew up. Glad this made some days. chroniclesofthenerds
Bad 2 the Bone.....
Bad girl - 3 kids, 2 of which happened in school... seems happy, never left the hometown.
Bad boy, appears he now works constructions and is on the fairly straight and narrow nowhere near where we grew up. jaycutlersattitude
Not So Sexy.....
GiphyLots of meth.
She posts photos of her newborn boy & calls him her 'sexy little man." cassycakesokc
When people call babies "sexy" it makes me want to barf on them. It's so gross. archivesgrrl
Sad Tales.
Drugs, drugs and brain damage.
In middle school there were these twins who were both really cool. They had a band (one did drums while the other sang and played guitar), skated, occasionally got in trouble with the law but for really small things.
A few months ago I was taking a bus when I saw them get on. They were clearly homeless and one of them kept whining to the other that he needed his fix. He passed out and his brother half heartedly puked into his hand. Eventually the bus driver saw one of them (I shit you not) strip down to his boxers to get some non puke stained clothes on and told them to get the off the bus. Told my folks about seeing the twins, apparently they've been in and out of jail for years.
Other guy I did karate with in middle and high school and was a sweet guy who had a bit of a temper and was a bit of a troublemaker. I saw him on the streets, we were both in our mid 20s but he looked like he was pushing 40. He talked slow, one side of his face trooped even when he smiled and he walked with a limp. I later found out that he was an on and off heroin addict and had been in enough fights that he was permanently brain damaged. komnenos
"massages"
I'm fairly certain one of the prominent and popular bad girls at my school ended up as a prostitute. A few years after graduation she kept posting about how people should come get "massages" at this sketchy spa she worked at downtown. She also kept posting about her modeling career, but all the photos were behind a pretty steep paywall, so I'm pretty sure that was porn. Anyway, I read in the news one day that this spa she worked at was raided by the cops and the owner was arrested for running a prostitution ring. She suddenly stopped posting after that. ApatheticAasimar
Get Help...
Alcoholic, missing most (all?) his teeth, usually in between jobs in either lawn service or pest control, has custody of his kids cause he's the "good" parent.
She's dead. OD right out of high school. nrfx
The Odds are bad.....
It's funny, in some aspect just about every classmate of mine was a "bad" kid. Many went on to college or have kids, but many others have struggled. Out of 55, 12 have died. We graduated high school 6 years ago. IndiaSixty
2 Bad Boys...
Two bad boys, both brothers, a few years apart.
The younger one started some sort of legitimate business (think Roy from the Office) and seems to be doing extremely well.
The oldest is literally homeless and constantly begging for money on Facebook. It's really sad. TaterTotCasseroll
Dreams Come True.
GiphyHe moved to California and became an ad film director. His Instagram stream regularly contains pics of him posing with topless models, celebs and fancy cars and bikes. He also has a boat.
So, he's living up to his childhood image, I say. RamnathCovid-19