I'm intimidated by intelligent people

Probably not and I think even the most intelligent people in the world at times feel a little uncomfortable and or shy in certain situations. You see you laughed and joked and that while you felt shy. So you see my dear friend you are not less intelligent at all, because you used your great thinking power to deter the shy feeling. Some people, though it is out of nature, cannot do this.

People are born with some talents but they have to develop them. It´s like learning a language. When I started posting at mylot, I´m sure I made more mistakes than I do now and I had to go to the dictionary more often for the word in English. I don´t think your reading level is an 8th grader´s. I think it is a lot more than that. You used "speechless", "struggled", "articulate" all in one sentence. Ask an 8th grader to do that. There are lots of books that are well written yet not boring that you can read. They will give you more vocabulary without even asking for it. Try the classics in romance. Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice are two of my favorites. And I reread once in a while a novel written for children by a canadian author. Anne of Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery. It should be in your local library.

Actually, I own the book Jane Eyre and enjoyed it immensely!! I haven't read Pride and Prejudice before but perhaps I'll borrow that from the library, and I do remember Montgomery's books as a child, the Green Gables and Avonlea. Once when I was a kid we visited Montgomery's gravesite, it was pretty neat (in Prince Edward Island). I admit I'm quite a bookworm, always have been since I was little, in fact they were my best friends, since I was an outcast in school, both elementary and high schools. I graduated with the skin of my teeth, though, hehehehe.....*blush* Hmmm...so I did use those 3 words...in one sentence....without even realising it. Oftentimes I just write (here on MyLot) stuff that comes from the top of my head, since it's a very relaxed environment, but man, when I'm writing for pay or an article I break out into a nervous sweat! :-p You do extremely well for a 2nd language, for sure, I'm impressed. Right now I'm teaching the admin/dentist guy I posted in my original post basic English (he's Greek) and he's getting better, definitely a lot better than he was this time last year, that's for sure. I fixed a lot of texts for him (simple answers to questions) from time to time, maybe that's why he chose me to work with him, because I have patience with him :-p

Wow, thanks for such a kind post, I admit I'm speechless, because I've always struggled in academics, but I have had people tell me that I was articulate in my expressions, both in speech and in writing. I think my reading level is around what an 8th grader's level would be, though. That's the same level as the newspapers here in Canada.

Yep. They physical in public.

Okay, well, when it comes to chemistry and physical only nerds talk about that in public!

True, about we all having our strengths, but sometimes it just exhausts my brain to even think about trying to act knowledgeable or anything. I just want to be me, and I tend to be on the more goofy/silly side, hehe

Ahh. I see. Well, maybe you shouldn't try to 'act knowledgeable'. Be honest and say, oh, I don't know much about that. I haven't read about that or heard of it. But I will try to learn more, little by little. Something like that. Nothing wrong with being just you. In fact, it's better if you stay true to yourself instead of trying to pretend you are something else. And go ahead with being goofy/silly as you are, laughter tends to make things lighter. =)

That's for your kind words of encouragement, ya, there is some pain/embarrassment in stretching myself from time to time, but since I'm not going to escape the intelligent world I may as well keep on confronting my fears. I just wish it wasn't so hard, and my anxiety disorder doesn't help things either :-p (I admit after I started treatment with my doctor things have improved on an emotional level).

Well, in my opinion, insecurity brings about shyness in a person. Much more of a causal relation than being similar. Just go with the flow and try as much as possible to always confront experiences with intelligent people. This way you would be comfortable by using experiences with them. Do not try to stay away from the intimidating moment and expose yourself to it every now and then. You'll suddenly see the results if you just go and converse with intelligent people upfront. Good luck and I tell you, you can do that! Always try to improve in everything that you do!:)

Oh gosh, I'm terrible at small talk and social outings as well!!! But I think we should be in places where our personality is suited, not what society expects of us. There are other ways of sharing your intelligence than becoming prominent citizens like lawyers and doctors and such. For me, I have to read careful most things that I read before I can make sense out of the words.

LOL I'd rather listen than to talk, personally, I"m like a sponge :-p I stutter when I talk and I hate the sound of my voice so if I'm quite and just listen I'm fine :-p The real trouble is when I'm talking one-on-one or in a small group like 3-4 people all having a conversation and they include me into it, ouch!

It's funny that you mentioned that because I'm all the time reading Wikipedia's articles, I find them really fascinating to read :-D

Some people don't understand that we're human as well as they are, I guess. I tend to stay by myself most times and let people come up to me and strike up a conversation, though I"m more expressive online than offline. Ah, well, at least most the people I associate with are understanding, there's a few uppity people who act in total utter surprise that I can actully KNIT!!!!!, or I can actually BAKE PIES!!!!! and all that LOL so I get smart at them and say that any visually impaired can do things providing that they have proper adaptations - just as good as you sighted people! hehehehe....

I find the Internet is a great place to be when meeting people, as they look at your words and not your looks type thing. I'm definitely more accepted online than I am offline :-p LOL

That's true we all have our topics in which we're good in. Oh gosh, talk about computers! LOL I'm so ignorant when it comes to computers, I remember first starting out I actually asked a tech support guy if a virus would literally make a computer blow up - as in explosion blow-up type thing. I can only imagine him getting off the phone with me and letting out a loud guffaw!!!!