Being special is not easy, kids.

And I know that those who feel special deal with some real anxiety about it. And that’s why we hide at times. It’s really hard to bear the weight of being fully you when it comes at a price.

What If I say the wrong thing and upset people? Don’t you hate upsetting people?! What if you end up dividing and polarising- in a way that you didn’t intend? Or even destroying?

Oppenheimer, who is cited as the father of the atomic bomb, asked nuclear weapons to be banned. He had deep regret about the blood on his hands. He was interested in communism.

One day you do your physics to the best of your ability (whilst being investigated by the FBI for suspicious behaviour); the next, you’ve invented the most powerful way to kill people without control of how it’s being used.

Oppenheimer studied Hinduism and became more interested in the mystical nature of the universe than clear cut science over time…

When Alfred Nobel’s brother died in a nitro-glycerine explosion, some obituaries mistakenly wrote that Alfred, “the merchant of death, is dead”. This really fazed him, and he invented dynamite to create safer explosions. What we know as “Dynamite” meant to be called “Nobel’s safety powder”, and it was made for civilian purposes. To rectify his name and values, he created the Nobel peace prize. What if you’re misunderstood, but don’t have the means to turn it all around? AAAAhh.

We can’t control what others think of us. And hiding your gifts isn’t the solution either. Being specially gifted has never been easy but not living your gifts comes at an even higher price. You need to be you. And maybe stay away from explosive stuff that can easily be used for mass destruction. Just an idea.