School....parents....friends--these are the main elements of life for all children. Whether identified as gifted or not, children look for support and strength through the people and places with whom and where they spend each day. When one of these essential ingredients to a well-lived life is lacking, all manner of issues can arise: (1) boredom; (2) confusion; (3) disappointment; and (4) a gnawing need to know when things will improve. If one adds in the factor of intellectual giftedness, the questioning may become more intense, the disconnection between "what is" and "what should be" more obvious, and the impatience with others more vivid. Indeed, being a middle school student is fraught with enough anxiety; when one's high intelligence causes additional stress, the need for answers to life's issues takes on new dimensions of importance. Over the past 25 plus years, the author has been privileged to learn from thousands of middle school gifted students (and their parents and teachers) about the high points and hassles of growing up gifted. Often, the most effective way to get gifted middle school students to discuss their own views and feelings is to share with them what others their age have said about growing up gifted. This article presents some sample responses from gifted middle school students as they discussed (and wrote about) each of the "Eight Great Gripes."