Dear Queenie,
I am a lot smarter than everyone else in my grade at school and I don’t have anything in common with any of them. Even though I am in the special advanced class I can’t have a conversation that everyone else can understand.
Queenie, can you help me?—Smarty-pants
Dear Smarty-pants,
Being exceptionally intelligent is not an asset if being conceited about it prevents you from relating to other people on other levels than mere intelligence, such as compassion, empathy and having similar interests.
To begin with, stop patting yourself on the back for being smarter than everyone else and start trying to understand why others who are not as intelligent as you are have so many more friends.
Then start using your gift to learn how to relate to others who have different talents than yours.
Your school counsellor may be able to help you, or to refer you to a professional psychological counsellor who can help you.
