In First Grade, there was a classmate that I didn’t know who was reading as many or more books as I was. I admired her.
I found out because in the fall we had a turkey with our name on it and for each book you read you got to put a feather in the turkey with the name of the book. This was to make the individual student feel good about their progress, but it made me aware of someone smarter and more able than me.
I wasn’t jealous or mad. I was impressed. I talked to this classmate and even though she was friendly with me we didn’t become friends. Why am I sharing this with you? Because the story has a twist.
Years later this woman in high school talks to me and becomes a friend. We even do things like go on bike rides and talk for hours. She was amazing with her thoughts and feelings and I felt she was smarter than I was. I admired her even more and was glad she and I were friends. I enjoyed being able to talk about the ideas we both shared, and she seemed to value my company as well. She confided in me and I valued that relationship.
She and I however were on opposite sides of the fence religiously. I was of a different faith and her family would not have accepted me. Well, they would accept me if I switched faiths, but I didn’t believe in that faith so that was a non-issue. Perhaps something more might have happened if things were different, but you deal with the cards you are dealt.
I have met many intelligent people and if I had to say who was the smartest it would be her. I once told her that I thought she was the smartest person I knew and she laughed. I feel so fortunate that I could be friends with so many wonderful people growing up and I hope they are all happy now. Admiring people is easy to do when you can love the differences in people, rather than the sameness.