If not, where do you think you got your intelligence?

I’ll go first.

My mom had a rough start in life. She was abused when she was a young girl, became homeless at 14, and was legally on her own by 16. I don’t think was unintelligent, but her education was severely limited on top of making some poor decisions. She made a name for herself as a saleswoman, pulling in great commissions and showing a real knack for the job. But even with all that success, she had a tendency to self-sabotage things when it came to relationships. Her real dream was to be a stay at home mom, so whenever she got pregnant, she would quit her job, thinking it was time to settle down. Unfortunately, it never worked out because the guys she dated were not the type to provide, so her dream of staying home with the kids never really materialized. She married pretty much everyone she dated, and it never worked out. She experienced serious mental health issues, including BPD, Bipolar 2, and what used to be called multiple personality disorder, and DID. I think she may have just been misdiagnosed though.

My dad grew up in a small town and had to take on a lot of responsibility early in life, caring for his siblings and working at a hospital while still in school. He wasn’t the most social or outgoing kid, but when it came to academics, he stood out. He consistently earned the highest marks in high school, without having to put in much effort. He was also talented artistically, selling his artwork while still a student. Even with all this, he didn’t believe he was good enough for college, so he followed his father’s advice and enlisted in the military. He scored a 98 on the ASVAB and dually joined the airforce as well as the navy, working as a jet mechanic and later as an air traffic controller on an aircraft carrier. After seven years, he left the military to pursue a relationship with my mom, though they split up two years after I was born. From there, he became a jailer and later a cop, but his drive for education pulled him back to college. He graduated at the top of his class once again, this time with a degree in criminal justice. Today, he’s a probation officer while also working as a deputy.

I’m not sure where the intelligence in my family comes from. On my mom’s side, my grandmother is a millionaire from working in sales, but my grandfather is more of a mystery. All I know is that he went to prison. On my dad’s side, my grandmother got pregnant as a teenager and dropped out of school, and my grandfather wasn’t particularly accomplished either. He made his way to America from Poland through Job Corps. My uncle on my dad’s side is pretty intelligent though. He majored in religious philosophy but ended up working in tech, running his own business and coaching a chess club. He had a different father than my dad, which makes me think the intelligence might come from my grandmother’s side. Two of his kids have autism (I have autism too), and they’re very smart, playing chess from a young age. I suspect my great-grandfather might have passed down some of this, since he was a pilot in World War II. I’ve also inherited a lot from my mom’s side. Her brother, my uncle, is the only gay person in the extended family and works as a radiology tech, though that’s all I know about him.

I don’t know much about my brothers on my mother’s side, but they seem fairly average. One of them has ADHD, which I think is worth noting since I have it too. He was in the navy (there’s a lot of military in my family). When I’ve talked to him, he comes across as interesting, but not especially gifted. My other brother, on the other hand, doesn’t seem too bright. He’s attractive and makes good money at a corporate job, but he’s extremely religious, to the point where it seems a bit over the top, much like my sister.