I would like to call this a positive, but some others might view it as a negative, so I think we'll just leave it as a value-free phenomenon: being an HG preteen in the teen world of high school can allow an individual to observe the adolescent social-emotional maturation process (Mating Rituals of the American Teenager, among other things) somewhat more objectively, prior to personally experiencing hormone-driven emotional volatility, and while still slightly outside of the stream.
Our DYS kid absolutely falls into this group. She just turned 13 and is in 9th grade. I can really see the difference between her interests and many of the other girls who are interested in boys, makeup, etc. It was humorous 2 years ago when she was giving dating advice to some of her classmates. Luckily we have moved to an area of the world where dating is not allowed until kids are much older so we don't have to deal with romance for quite a while. Academics are everything.
Concerning sports - DD would never play sports with kids her own age if it meant she played with middle schoolers. She is absolutely a high school student. This means she is much smaller than the rest.
