Imagine a world where humans can only see three colors: black, white, and red. Imagine seeing plants and trees in shades of gray. Imagine the sky appearing only in grays and pinks — especially at sunrise and sunset. Imagine gazing out at an ocean or a lake, perceiving only hues of dark gray.
Imagine all this is normal, and those humans marvel at their beautiful oceans, trees, and sunsets.
Now imagine, in this Red World, you were born with eyes that can also see blue. Looking up at the sky, or into the deep sea, you’d see sapphire tones instead of gray. To your eyes, plants and trees would appear more textured and colorful. Unlike others, you could distinguish between people with blue eyes and hazel. You’d more quickly spot perky blue delphiniums or medicinal borage on a distant hillside. You’d have a unique appreciation for the splendor of peacocks and the variety of irises. You alone would be able to see purple.
Or imagine you could see yellow. Sunlight would take on an entirely different quality for you compared to the Reds. You’d spot venomous snakes more quickly than your neighbors. Since you can see yellow (and therefore orange), you’d be better at identifying ripe fruits and vegetables. Like Blue Seers, you could see a wider variety of reds — useful in distinguishing healthy blood from sick, and hot-enough fires from dying ones.
Then imagine what it would be like to have eyes that see blue and yellow on the Red World. You would see all the colors, and your rainbow world would be vastly different from the Reds’.
Not only would it be vastly different, neither you nor the Reds would realize how different. As a Blue child, you might ask your Red parents why the sky looked that way, but feel unsatisfied when their answers don’t make sense. As a Yellow child, you might earn praise for always knowing when the bananas were ripest but feel confused that no one else could “get it”. As a Rainbow child, you might love creating art about butterflies but feel frustrated that the available colors of paint and paper don’t allow you to fully express your inner vision. You might enjoy talking enthusiastically about how a friend’s eye color changes with their mood or outfit but feel ashamed when others make fun of you … or call you crazy.
On the Red World, these Colorful children grow into Colorful adults who are viewed as eccentric, neurotic, intimidating, or arrogant. Reds see them as “different” in some vague way that’s both “too much” and “not enough”. Many Colorfuls never realize they can see more colors than everyone else, and that the Reds can’t see what they can. They internalize the negative messaging of Red Culture and conclude that they’re wrong, broken, alien, or delusional.
Some Colorfuls decide that other people must be too stupid, too lazy, or too stubborn to see blue or yellow. Some learn to not talk about colors, and conclude life is mostly hard and they’re destined to be outcasts. Meanwhile, other Colorfuls gaslight and train themselves to not see other colors at all, and even join the Reds in bullying Colorful people.
This is what it’s like to be gifted.
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Like on the Red World, gifted people come in many different “colors” on ours — different flavors, magnitudes, and combinations of genius. Our lived experience is diverse and intersectional. Not all of us grow up carrying painful burdens like the Colorfuls, and it’s true that being gifted bestows tremendous advantage in some contexts. But the common assumption that gifted people have it easy and live charmed lives is far from accurate. Among the many gifted people I’ve met in person, on stage, or on page, a significant majority struggle like the Colorfuls — some even more so, myself included.
The tragic truth is that being different in modern society leads to marginalization and suffering, even — sometimes especially — when the “difference” is considered a strength. Read the rest on Medium!
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