I was completely floored. Nobody has ever mistaken me for a doctor. I had hardly any makeup on, I was wearing a faded, ancient dress and leggings. I stuttered that no, I was just a student, training to be a dietitian. He nodded and moved on.
It was some time later that I realised I'd been reading a journal paper about malaria and sickle cell anaemia which I'd put down on Amber's bed when he was speaking to us. Maybe that was why.
Days later and I'm still quietly chuffed that he thought I was a doctor. Me! I must've come across as reasonably intelligent. I must've seemed like the kind of person who could, potentially, be a doctor. How cool is that?!
Very very slowly I'm starting to realise that even doctors and scientists and lawyers and uber-clever people who I feel a bit thick and overawed standing next to, even they actually had to learn the stuff they know. Anyone can be clever. All you have to do is learn stuff.
And even if you think you're stupid, if you keep going, and keep working hard, and don't give up.... sooner or later you'll know more than other people. I thought I was the slowest, stupidest person in my class at the beginning of September, but I can already see that actually, I'm pretty good. Other people think I'm bright. My results are better than most people. I really genuinely CAN do this.
I know I'm probably pointing out the most obvious thing in the world, but somehow I actually genuinely did not know this. I knew that to get good at tennis you have to practise for 10,000 hours... but I didn't think it applied to 'being clever'. I thought you either were or you weren't. This news has changed my life. If only I could've discovered it 20 years ago!
No comments:
Post a Comment