I'm 25 now but when i was in school, i started to do poorly after 6th grade. Before that, i was considered gifted and got nearly perfect grades. Much of it was the fact that i lost interest and didn't want to do the work. It was like i couldn't physically force myself to do it. My grades dropped drastically and the only way i was able to graduate was by going to a vocational tech school for my junior and senior years. I did very well there because i was actually interested in what i was learning (machining). I then went through a state apprenticeship program for toolmaking and i finished the entire placement test for math, which was almost unheard of because it starts with basic math and goes all the way up to fairly complex trig and you can't get anything wrong, or use a calculator (all work must be shown).
The reason why i tell you all this is because it 100% has to do with what you're interested in. When i truely want to learn something, i think about it ALL DAY untill i have it entirely worked out logically, and people would think i've been doing it all my life when they talk to me about it.
I walk around all day like this, and i can be very productive at work while not even remotely thinking about what i'm doing. I get into a rythm since what i do is fairly repetetive, and as long as nothing really changes, i can black myself out of "reality" while i'm in thought and barely remember what i did all day. I think i'm a little OCD, to say the least.
Also, when people approach me at work i nearly jump out of my skin because i'm so deep in thought that it's almost like they woke me up. Everyone thinks i'm really jumpy snd drink too much caffine, when in reality, i'm not, and i never had a cup of coffee in my life.
How many of you can relate?