Cursed With Awesome / Real Life

• Polydactyly, in cases when people actually have normal functional sixth fingers. Studies have shown that polydactyls can do certain tasks better than those with five fingers, and develop extra brain functions.
• Famed Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges wrote powerfully on the benefits of blindness, asserting that he could now "see" the truths of the world more clearly.
• Autistic savants^note Note that both words are important. Just being autistic does not make one a savant.: They generally have superb mathematical abilities, despite being autistic. However, it's extremely rare. Savants can also be gifted with artistic, musical, linguistic talent, etc., but they tend to only be skilled in that area and absolutely nothing else. It can get oddly specific, too; a savant might be able to draw a horse perfectly, but can't even draw a cloud in the background. There's also the fact that savants can be academically brilliant but have little to no social skills.
• Although high-functioning autism has its benefits compared to other people with more severe Autism, where they exhibit an intellectual disability. High-functioning autistics can integrate into society much more easily than others, their condition is much more manageable because they don't require a support worker, and they can develop the necessary skills and qualities for their adulthood (albeit slowly). However, High-functioning autistics still have issues of their own.
  • They have trouble with communication (literal-mindedness and misunderstanding hints), emotion recognition and expression (they may upset people by accident, misinterpret jokes, or may not know their own emotions), and social interaction (they may appear awkward, cold, and distant when they're not), which is often misinterpreted as something more malicious than it is because their condition is harder to visually identify by others at first glance.
  • Then there's the other matter of support from the government as they may refuse to support a high-functioning autistic under the belief that their condition doesn't require that level of support or because the autistic person just can't prove their autism.
  • Thirdly, support for autistic people is designed more for low-functioning autistics or those who struggle more with the condition than others, causing high-functioning autistics to feel belittled or humiliated for being solely defined by their condition instead of personal merit.
• Having low alcohol tolerance. While it can suck to experience the symptoms of drinking too much faster than others and you will have to be more careful than others when drinking at gatherings, people with it are less likely to spend too much money on drinking, develop health issues, and become alcoholics.
• It has been said that Howard Hughes would not have performed any of his accomplishments if he was not driven by his Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. The same has been said with Howie Mandel.
• John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, since he never achieved anywhere near the fame of Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, or even John Bonham, he was free to enjoy the rock and roll lifestyle and actually explore the many places they visited on tour because no one would recognize him on the street, while the rest of the band couldn't leave their hotel rooms without being swarmed by fans.
• With neurosyphilis, a recurrence of syphilis when latent Treponema bacteria start attacking the brain, it causes euphoria in its victims. They become more sexually active, happier, and more passionate. Because syphilis isn't very common anymore, this usually happens in old people. Now, you can imagine how being old and suddenly regaining your sex drive is unusual. A substory of House was inspired by this. That, in turn, was inspired by a real case study done by Oliver Sacks, which he wrote about in The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat. This 89 year old woman had been a prostitute in turn of the century Greece and contracted syphilis when she was 20. Since there was no treatment at the time, the spirochetes became latent and only affected her 70 years later. She started feeling horny for the first time in years, and sleeping with younger men. Her fellow prostitutes had nicknamed it "Cupid's Disease" (brothels should know a thing or two about STDs). Sure enough, when they tested her CSF, it was positive for neurosyphilis. And just like in House, the old woman wasn't sure if she wanted it treated. But she didn't have to worry. Her brain had been permanently "damaged," so the spirochaetes could be killed without reversing the mild disinhibition. In House's words, she was "cursed to feel happy".
• In the late 1940s Harry Corbett used to play the piano in a band. Then he started going deaf (he was eventually cured by an operation). He took up conjuring instead, and before long he started using a teddy bear glove puppet as his assistant — and the rest is history.
• More neurological awesome-curses: Geschwind syndrome occurs in some people with temporal lobe epilepsy and possibly other temporal lobe abnormalities. It consists of hypergraphia (A compulsion to write or draw incessantly), a tendency to have heightened emotional and mental life and decreased sexual interest, and an inclination towards spirituality. Sure, seizures aren't fun, but the rest of it? Many writers would give anything to spend more time in that mindstate, especially the hypergraphia. Low sex drive is not much of a problem, you only lack the "urge" to mate like 99% of the rest of the population, but you can appreciate sex physically as much as everyone else... You are also much less likely to do stupid things (although, low sex drive can be a symptom of another problem such as depression or a hormone imbalance. It would be wise to double-check.)
• The religious hierarchy of Egypt was so angry at King Tut's father for trying to switch to a monotheistic system that they did their best to completely erase any history that his son ever ruled. They were so successful that the tomb was only robbed twice months after the burial, the first of which stole limited items and the second of which the robbers were caught and the items returned. Which is why it was full of treasure when Carter discovered it, causing King Tut to be the best-known pharaoh of all time.
• Narcissists. They are much more confident, ambitious and sure of themselves than ordinary people, giving them a greater chance of success. On the other side, their relationships and self-control can become really serious issues, with a chance they end up putting themselves or others in danger.
• Russia is a vast country with extremely cold winters, two factors which drive up transport and living costs, and generally cause life in Russia to be an even greater pain. However, during the World Wars, the vastness of Russia and the coldness of her winters played merry hell with the invaders' logistics — they were far more dependent on railways and, unlike the Russians, they didn't have enough horses to keep their troops fed and supplied properly over the massive distances involved.
  • Not just during the World Wars. People with eyes on Russia like the Teutonic Knights and Napoleon Bonaparte also got caught up in the winters, to the point that it was almost expected for a Russian Army to used a Scorched-Earth strategy - wherein they'd evacuate and then raze all the villages in the invaders' path to keep them hungry and exposed to the elements. Napoleon's failed invasion is considered (one of) his greatest failure(s). The Nazis also suffered this, and Hitler expected them to keep on going and not retreat. It's not for nothing that Russia's winter is sometimes nicknamed "General Frost" or "General Winter."
  • Same applies to Finland. But also skiing or snowmobiling through the snowy wilderness in winter is far faster than walking or hiking through them in the summer, and the extremely difficult road conditions in the winter makes Finns skillful car and motorcycle drivers. If you wanna win, get a Finn is an old adage in motor sports. Many car manufacturers do their development work in Finland due to the Finnish winter and road conditions in wintertime.
    • Russian Lada had (and has still) an excellent reputation as a reliable winter car in Finland. While generally not liked, it was respected. It can be said Lada itself was cursed with awesome — the properties which made it a good winter car made it awful to drive in other seasons.
    • In the contiguous United States; Minnesota has a reputation for being cold and desolate, with long winters. Those same properties make northern Minnesota a popular testing area for car manufacturers working in the US. Relatedly; Minnesota has had a lot of immigrants from Finland and more recently from Russia.
• Suspension with pay. You don't need to (in fact you can't) go to work, but you still get paid. Along the same vein, suspension from school: most kids hate school anyway, so you're going to "punish" them with a couple of days off? Great! The only ways for it to truly feel like a punishment is if their parents are strict enough to make sure it's not a vacation for them, the student feels ashamed of what they did, or cares deeply about their permanent record. Some schools have gone to "in-school suspension" (basically all-day detention) to counteract this, but this also fails because students aren't really forced to work. For those that do take the time to work, they're able to do so at their own pace since they're not at the mercy of period bells.
• Shows with a small or No Budget. Yeah, you may not get the best special effects or Scenery Porn of a better funded show, but by the same tokens, the writers realize this, and you oftentimes can get a show that's better written and better produced. The producers of Supernatural, the old series of Doctor Who and Being Human (UK) have all mentioned working on somewhat small budgets (especially for a sci-fi series) forced them to get creative and put more effort into quality instead of spectacle.
  • Good indie titles are the video game version. Not forced to meet deadlines or corporate interests, developers can take their sweet time making the game to their vision.
  • Adversity forces creativity. The original ending of Back to the Future (driving into a Nevada nuclear test range) was judged too expensive by the studio, so they wrote in the lightning strike at the clock tower instead. Many many classic movies had similar situations, where a unique solution to a budget issue became the most memorable part of the film.
• Avengers: Infinity War writers have credited this to the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Since Marvel Studios didn't have access to its top-tier superheroes like Spider-Man or the X-Men when the franchise began in 2008, they had to work with B-list heroes, which gave the studio more creative freedom in reimagining and altering the characters without having to live up to pre-existing expectations by the public. Furthermore, the lesser-known reputation of these heroes forced the writers to focus more on making the characters relatable instead of relying just on brand name recognition.
  • This has also been the case with the DC Extended Universe to a lesser extent - the more successful films in the franchise like Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Shazam were based on lesser-known properties that didn't need to live up to prior adaptations, unlike Man of Steel or Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. In addition, prior superhero movies with female leads such as Catwoman and Elektra were infamously bad, to the point where the people who made Wonder Woman were largely forced to make the film break out of the Girl-Show Ghetto. For similar reasons, the public perception of Aquaman was largely tarnished by his portrayal in Superfriends, so the makers of his film also knew they at least had to clear a bar.
• Certain types of synesthesia. Most people who have it describe it as a sixth sense that allows them to memorize things like formulas and phone numbers better than the average person as well; some who perceive sounds as colors have composed music by literally looking at it without the aid of sheet music. The downside? You're basically constantly hallucinating and describing your experiences to someone who isn't familiar with your particular manifestation of synesthesia makes you sound like you just transferred in from Wonderland. Of course, there's also the fact that it cannot be controlled. What if, for example you meet someone who you think might be the love of your life, but merely speaking or hearing their name literally puts a bad taste in your mouth?
• Waardenburg Syndrome, which usually causes deafness or hearing loss. But many people with the mutation also have the most stunning, gorgeous blue eyes that are humanly possible. [1]◊
• Most if not all neurological disorders that give one the ability to feel euphoria without having to work for it. Something that usually takes the average person drugs to achieve.
• Some people get very neurotic about being late to anything, even by a few minutes, and thus often insist on coming very early. They can be a pain to go out with and suffer from anxiety often, but its not without its benefits and is way better than being chronically late for everything.
• Some people with bipolar disorder refuse to take medication for their condition, preferring the roller-coaster to a blandly-unpleasant existence of mild sedation and other drug side-effects.
• Super tasters. They have too many taste buds and as a result, they cannot enjoy delicious foods. But this forces them to actually enjoy healthy foods. YMMV though, since certain healthy foods can be overbearing while less healthy ones with less complex flavors will be preferred.
• Single people. While a relationship can be a good thing for a person, it can also be bad. Very, very bad. So while single people may feel lonely at times (and may even be ridiculed by others!) they have more freedom, less worry/drama, more focus on goals, no worries about fidelity/exclusivity/trust, etc. relative to people in romantic relationships. All this can apply to virgins as well: there can be no surer protection against STDs and unwanted pregnancies than not having sex!
• Married people. Sure, you give up a lot of autonomy when you tie the knot, and there's the specter of Awful Wedded Life lurking around the corner. But for those who can endure the tough parts, you've got a permanent friend, companion, support, confidante, assistant, sex partner, and more. Plus, there's plenty of evidence that married couples tend to be more prosperous economically than two otherwise-equivalent singles.
• Some people require a lot of stimulation to orgasm, or simply can't climax at all. This can make it difficult if not impossible to use masturbation to 'blow off steam' and relax, and it can also foster feelings of inadequacy in one's partners — who may feel they are 'to blame' for you not climaxing. But on the plus side you may well be able to work up to a very, very high plateau of sexual pleasure — the kind most might only be able to reach for a moment before climaxing. And then stay there. In some cases, for hours. Cursed with awesome indeed.
• Human biology states that wisdom teeth should grow in, something which evolved as they served as a replacement for teeth lost throughout life. Today some people have a hereditary condition that prevents this from occurring. This is technically a genetic defect, however in the era of modern dental hygiene where wisdom teeth are not necessary and most people have them removed via difficult and uncomfortable surgery, it only works to one's benefit.
• Working weekends. While any shift that requires this does not seem desirable, it has a large advantage that most don't realize unless they've done it: If your days off are normal business days, this means you have days off when everything is open and you can get errands done far easier and at less of an inconvenience to your normal schedule. It also allows one to go shopping at stores that are open 7 days but are far busier on weekends and beat the crowds. You can actually get far more done on your days off.
  • The same with working the night shift or early morning. Many radio hosts, for example, only work when doing their show, and then spend the rest the day doing whatever they want.
    • Some private schools require you to work on Saturdays, but because of this, the days off you normally would have are added to your holidays. For instance, in UK schools that do this you would get nine weeks summer holiday instead of six, plus extra weeks at Christmas and Easter too. You get a great feeling of vindication when people from other schools have to go back to school when you have several more weeks of holiday left. That's not to say it's not frustrating to lose your full weekend though.
  • Many computer programmers prefer working the night shift because it offers fewer distractions.
  • If where you work is a non-trivial commute from home, working at night and on weekends can have the benefit of not having to deal with the horrendous rush hour traffic.
  • Part of the appeal of night audit shift at hotels, often a thankless job compared to the day shifts, is that although it is still a customer service position, it is also very quiet compared to day shifts, and as such many take advantage of the large amount of downtime to get some personal projects done or do their studies if they are also going to school (including college or adult education) at the same time. The majority of hotel customers check in during the daytime, with only a few stragglers in comparison typically checking in late at night.
• Some guy on Twitter tried to threaten women with the "curse" of not dating them. Which led to this hilarious five-act play by John Scalzi: [2]
• There are quite a few people with high metabolisms that wish they could actually pack on the pounds. This is despite them being able to eat as much as they want without gaining any weight, and svelte people being generally considered quite attractive (to the point where there's many a model who's little more than skin and bones).
• Poets/Writers/artists who've had horrible lives. In return of a lifetime of suffering (losing their parents very early, starvation, disease, etc.), they write far better works than ones whose lives were happier. A good example is Attila József, a young Hungarian poet whose father abandoned the family when he was three years old and mother died nine years later, ended up in the psychiatric ward, and died when he was crushed by a train. Still he wrote beautiful and amazing poems that were even melodized by some punk bands. Though some of them only get their appreciation they deserve after they die.
• Amtrak does not run any high speed lines outside the Northeast Corridor due to its lackluster federal funding, forcing it to take winding routes through mountainous terrain — giving train-riders among the best views you can get on any trip in the world. Few railroads in the world offer so much "the journey is the destination" as Amtrak does. However, it can also become Blessed with Suck as Congress does not see tourism and sightseeing as something the federal government should spend money on.^note Never mind all that tourism and sightseeing does wonders for local economies, or that Congress can always somehow find money for highways, airports, and cruise ship terminals.
• This turned out to be the case with Secretariat, considered (at least by North Americans) the greatest racehorse of all time. After his death an autopsy revealed that his heart was freakishly much larger than your average horse, with absolutely no signs of disease. Almost certainly the result of a genetic mutation, this enlarged heart's ability to pump much more blood was the primary reason for his speed and stamina.^note Most notably an epic 31-length win in the 1973 Belmont Stakes, the longest of the US Triple Crown races at 1 1/2 miles (~2400 m) and often the one where Triple Crown dreams go to die.
• Some people with Kallman Syndrome as told in this Cracked article. When the male recipients are too late to be treated, their semen can be infertile and are subjects for their kids' look. Yet the male recipients will not go bald much later than normal men, treated or not. And hey, if they are treated they still have their youth for some time and their voice wouldn't crack.
• Small-name creators may not be making enough from what they produce for entertainment for it to be their main job, but they generally enjoy better relations with their fans (due to not being flooded with constant fan messages), are more likely to do what they do out of passion rather than just to make money, and don't have to deal with the downsides of being super-famous such as constant public scrutiny.
• Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome is a condition where a woman is born effectively genetically male on the inside, yet still developed female genitalia and hormones. It leaves any recipient lacking reproductive organs and completely infertile. However the way it affects body development means that women with it often end up absolutely gorgeous.
• Underachieving students in school, who have to struggle and work hard to get marks. Once they're out of school and likely pursuing a career that doesn't require a high level of academic prowess, they're likely to find themselves excelling purely on the work ethic they developed.
• People in small or obscure cities may lose out when it comes to things to do around town or participating in big-name events (such as concerts of popular musicians) that are only held in bigger cities that people actually care about, but one of their perks is that where they live is less likely to be flooded by tourists who crowd places or disrespect the local culture.
• Having an eidetic memory and or hyperthymesia is also paired with Blessed with Suck, it's of great use when you're studying, revising, and doing other memory-based activities because you can remember everything in vivid detail. However, it also means that you're practically stuck with every disgusting, embarrassing, infuriating, traumatic, and unpleasant memory.
• Heterochromia can be either this or Blessed with Suck. Most people think it looks cool, and it usually doesn't have any side effects. In some cases though (depending on the cause) it can cause vision problems or be indicative of another health issue.
• Robbie Williams is quite possibly the most famous solo male pop singer alive, having sold 75 million records since leaving Take That in 1997, but the price of his fame is that he has never been successful in the United States, having only a few minor hits in the US despite being a juggernaut everywhere else. But rather than seeing this as a career frustration, Williams takes advantage of it by making his home in the US — Los Angeles specifically — since it's the only place in the world where he can live anonymously and give his family a normal life.
• The late Johnny Hallyday was in much the same situation as Williams, but for a different reason — he sang almost exclusively in French, with only a small handful of English-language songs. He was a megastar in France and most if not all of the rest of the French cultural sphere, but unknown in the US. Which is why he spent much of the last 15–20 years of his life in Los Angeles, getting into some English-language acting in those years.
• ADHD and ADD helps with some things in life, but unless the circumstances are already in your favour they may not be of any use.
  • To compensate for the short attention span, many ADHD individuals develop the ability to Sherlock Scan — but this also makes it harder to focus on any one thing, since they cannot filter out the very details they use to scan everything.
  • Hyperfocus diverts all brain power on a single thing, which allows for faster learning... but cannot be triggered at will, usually only happens if the subject is already interesting, you'll be less aware of your surroundings/needs and can be a massive time sink. For example, one may come up with an idea for a project at 4pm, starts doing it and realizes at 4am they haven't eaten anything for the last 14 hours, they've been postponing a bathroom break for 3 hours and have screwed up their schedule.
• Mild cases of light sensitivity can very easily become this. You see more clearly in the dark than most others, at the cost of having to wear sunglasses when you go out in daylight, which many people do regardless.
• Hyperacusis is a very rare hearing disorder that makes a person's ear(s) extremely hypersensitive. As a result, they perceive sounds as being much louder than they really are. According to some hyperacusis sufferers, it is downright debilitating at times; even the quietest sounds (such as a fan blowing, or a heater) can be quite irritating, while sounds that actually ARE quite loud (such as a dog barking) are painful. However, they usually also admit that there are times where they are grateful to have it; extremely good hearing can be very helpful and important in some situations.
• Some insomniacs learn to adapt to not being able to get a full 8 hours of sleep, becoming "Sleepless Elites" — people who can function just fine with half the amount of sleep.
• Some women develop turkey necks in their 30s and 40s (fat under the neck) and spend a fortune trying to fix this, but the upside is they don't develop wrinkles on their neck until after 50 or sometimes 60 in most cases, meaning if they have a youthful enough face, they can pass for being in their teens or early 20s far into middle age, and even grey hair can be passed off as following the "granny hair" trend of young women dying their hair grey. However, this often becomes Blessed with Suck past age 70 as visible aging hits them much harder, making this a Zig-Zagged Trope. Those who avoid this fate can continue to look much younger than their age for their remaining days.
• Being a fan of an unsuccessful sports team. Sure, losing seasons may be painful to endure, but the seasons they do well are far more fun and memorable than for teams that are consistently successful. For example, Penn State in 2005 and 2016 following times of hardship compared to the Alabama Crimson Tide and Clemson Tigers who have won many recent national championships. Victory Is Boring indeed!
• Having a strange name sucks during childhood, but as an adult can make you more memorable. Case in point, Marijuana Pepsi Vandyck.
• Symptoms of some Personality Disorders can include positive traits, such as confidence and good social skills in histrionics, and loyalty and empathy in borderlines.