Smarter Than Thou

There's a very thin line between being an expert on a subject, and being obsessive.

Me? I'm very, very far away from that line. I'm not an expert on anything, and I know it. I have a very general sort of knowledge about a lot of things, though, and it makes me look smarter than I am.

My general knowledge comes from a natural curiousity in me. I read all sorts of things, whether they interest me right away, or not. I've read a lot of books, watched a lot of movies, and when you do that, you pick up a lot of useless facts.

(No, I'm not going to list any. There are entire websites full of them, all over the net.)

...and with the general knowledge making me look smarter, I feel bad I know something someone else doesn't. It makes me feel like I'm some sort of show-off, and I'm not really.

Oh, don't get me wrong. I love the spotlight, when I decide I want it. In high school, I kept myself in the spotlight among my friends as much as possible, because that was who I was at the time. Now, I'd rather be a bit blurry, and only come into focus long enough to crack wise, smile charmingly, and fade back away.

I feel bad when I look smarter, because I know it's not right. It's a lie! I'm just an average schmuck, who happens to be a halfway decent writer. (At least that's what I'm told. I'm not sure I believe it, honestly. In my mind, I'm just an average writer with just a little more drive than other average writers.)

Maybe I should just give in to it, and become snooty. I can make some elitist friends, and stand around talking about things in general, avoiding any subject I'm not decently versed in.

Nope. Don't think so. I'd rather stick out like a sore thumb in a room of real, average people, than be surrounded by fake posers. (Oxymoron, anyone?)

Give me your stoners, your role-playing nerds, your band-that-will-never-go-anywhere members, and let me be their friend.

At least they'll be real with me, even if they think I'm too smart for them.