Being exceptional may cause a variety of reactions; some of those responses are supportive, but others can discourage or discount people with high ability.

“I got that whole precocious thing [as a child]. I had no reason to doubt my own abilities or not share my opinion. The adults were offended, and the kids were resentful. I was persona non grata in both camps for quite a while.”

Diane Lane [Lifetime magazine, Oct 2003] – the image is Lane on the cover of a 1979 Time magazine about “Hollywood Whiz Kids.”

Many other gifted and talented people are drawn to the arts and entertainment – and other fields, of course – and have had similar experiences and reactions from other people, both as children and adults.

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