The Girl Who Wasn’t Afraid to Say She Was Smart

There was a girl in my class who used to say she never studied.

“I just know it.”

She said it without hesitation, without embarrassment, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.

I couldn’t stand her.

Who did she think she was?

Didn’t she know there was an unspoken rule? If you’re good at something, you’re supposed to pretend it took effort. You don’t make everyone else feel inadequate. You certainly don’t announce that everything comes naturally.

I judged her immediately.

Arrogant.

Full of herself.

Years later, I remembered her.

There was nothing to do with the fact that she had been right or wrong, but because I suddenly saw the story differently.

Maybe she wasn’t trying to make anyone feel small.

Maybe she was simply telling the truth.

And perhaps what bothered me wasn’t her confidence at all.

Perhaps it was the courage it took to say something most people would never dare admit.

How many of us hide what comes naturally?

How many times do we make ourselves smaller so other people feel more comfortable?

We apologise for our talents.

We soften our opinions.

We laugh off our successes.

It’s not because we’re humble, but because we learn very early that standing out can come with a price.

I wonder what happened to that girl.

I hope life didn’t convince her to doubt herself.

I hope she never learned to pretend she was less capable than she really was.

Sometimes I think about how quickly we judge people.

Then I think about how many years it can take before we’re ready to take a second look.

Maybe that’s what growing up really is.

Not changing the past.

Just changing the way we see it.