I Was Smarter As An 8th Grader

I was recently going through my old things, and I discovered a few mementos from my 8th Grade year.

Things I did in Grade 8:

- Wrote a perfect paper on a national math competition, something that got my name in the local paper.

- Drew political maps of the world, complete with capitals in their correct locations, from memory.

- Taught myself how to program in C+ out of a book, for fun.

- Joined the school's cross-country team.

- Arranged a number of pieces for small instrumental ensemble.

- Made up fake mutual funds and tracked them regularly from the paper's business section. Once again, for fun.

- Grew a garden. Also collected seeds and split old bulbs.

- For a class assignment, wrote a 60-page novella about two anti-globalization terrorists attempting to hi-jack a plane carrying a trade mission to china.

- Painted a replica landscape picture of a group of seven artist. (In acrylics instead of oils; but accurately sized.)

So, um, yeah, about that potential...