Why You Shouldn’t Feel Dumb Around Others.

Most times all I want to do is sit and converse with my family. But sometimes, sitting with them is a punishment.

Allow me to take you through the tale of my punishment.

I’m sitting at the far end of the room. My mother is to my left and my brothers. . . well, they are everywhere. My mother and eldest brother are discussing Agriculture.

Honestly, I only know how to eat the good food; anything else and my brain says, “Please, excuse me.” 

My other two brothers are so engrossed in their football talk and I know next to nothing about that topic, so I did the only right thing— keeping my mouth busy with food.

When they have such conversations, I feel like an idiot because I have no clue what they are talking about. I have vague ideas though, but no deep details.

And therefore, I can’t add to the conversation; resulting in my brain telling me I am dumb. 

Okay, enough of the scenario, let’s get right into why I wrote this blog post to you.

The other day, I realized something as they were discussing:

I am not dumb.

It’s just that the topics they were into and discussing were not of my interest. That’s why I didn’t know anything about them. There are topics I know of that they have no clue about, so I am smart in those topics.

I was earlier cringing and making myself look small while listening in on my family’s conversation. But the moment I heard my inner wisdom, I smiled and sat up straight.

Movies. Books. Writing. Mental Health. Self-development. Psychology. Spirituality. Humanity.

I can talk about these topics for hours.

• Let me tell you why I think we should all reform our minds so that body-shaming and bullying will be reduced.

• Let me tell you about the imagery Charles Dickens brings in his book, Great Expectations.

• Let me tell you why I think scriptwriters deserve more recognition, ’cause who the hell wrote Money Heist?!’

• Let me tell you why I think it’s better to stay single than to marry for all the wrong reasons.

• And don’t even get me started on Marvel’s stuff or Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s books.

I am intelligent, and nobody can make me feel otherwise.

Hell yeah, you are intelligent too!

It’s okay not to know about a topic, but you are not dumb.

You are intelligent in the topics you find most interesting.

We all want to have meaningful conversations and we go out looking for people to have these conversations with. But what most of us get wrong is— we discuss the right topic with the wrong group.

This is why we look for like-minded people, people who will understand our language.

So next time you feel dumb around a bunch of people, remember that just because you’re not interested in their topics doesn’t make you dumb.

You, too, are intelligent in your way.

And if you are like me, whenever you feel dumb amidst a group of people, change the subject to one you are good at and make them feel dumb for some minutes too.

In the end, it’s all equal.

Stay intelligent!

I am Oluwaferanmi,  

And you are loved by God.❤

Edited by Daniela Obike.

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