If You’re an Intellectual, Act Like One
Don’t tolerate smart-shaming and embrace who you are
In seventh grade, my history teacher asked if anyone knew what the huge, fancy, painting-like carpets covering the walls of the Palace of Versailles were called. His question was met with silence and puzzled faces.
Eventually, I raised my hand and said: “Gobelin.” My teacher was thrilled. So was my neighbor. “Ooooh, go-be-liiiiin, Mr. I-know-everything.” The class erupted in laughter.
There’s something to be said here about shaming intellectuals and about a system in which being fun is cooler than being smart, but at 13 I was oblivious to both of those things — so I too erupted in laughter. If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em, right?
This worked well for me all throughout high school and, to be fair, I had a mostly positive experience. I learned early on that being diplomatic and adapting to others bodes well for intellectuals, which, thankfully, spared me from getting shoved into any lockers.
Still, I always wondered why I got along so much better with older people, and why I often thought the most interesting conversation in the room was to be had with the teacher, not one of the students.
