Did/do you ever try to dumb down to fit in?

<p>I need to slap my 2010 self… smh.</p>

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I second this objection.</p>

<p>I always dumb myself down because I don’t like the pressure of having to do well or living up to some expectation.</p>

<p>Back when I was 13 I consciously inserted “like” into my dialogue and wrote a list of words to start pronouncing incorrectly. It would be funny if I hadn’t become very, very popular because of that. When a teacher finally got me to quit, all of my “friends” stopped liking me.
Turns out there’s nothing fifteen year olds love more than feeling better than the next fifteen year old, so when someone becomes your equal… blammo annihilated from your oh so selective myspace top friends.</p>

<p>I’m guilty… But with my real friends I never have to dumb down my vocabulary, we can just ask if we don’t know what something means. I mean who cares, we can learn from each other. But with the rest of the school, I try to fit in, I guess it is an insecurity, but ehh whatever.</p>

<p>lololol
Heck no.
I’m better than that.</p>

<p>Never.</p>

<p>I have, however, felt somewhat out of place with CP kids. Probably 'cause we don’t have any of the same classes. I don’t hang out with them simply because I don’t have any classes with them.</p>

<p>I’ve never really tried to “dumb down,” so to speak. I don’t pay much attention to popular culture (seriously, I’m the guy who had to ask what a “snooki” was the first time I heard the word in conversation), and in that regard, I have attempted to make some ground, but that’s not because I want to “fit in” per se. My only goal in familiarizing myself with what’s popular is so I can follow the conversation when that becomes the subject.</p>

<p>As for limiting my vocabulary for better communication, I’ve found that I tend to forget words if I don’t use them, so that’s not an option. However, I always try to present myself with an open, inviting demeanor so nobody feels less intelligent or is afraid to ask a question.</p>

<p>I also associate with a wide range of people. My school doesn’t have “cliques” in the traditional sense. We all have our own group of close friends, but that doesn’t prevent us from branching out (for instance, I, as a band member, would have no trouble eating lunch with the football players or the cheerleaders and vice versa). Although there is somewhat of a communication barrier, I don’t think any of us feel uncomfortable conversing with each other or requesting clarification if we don’t catch something in the discussion. Maybe that’s just my perception, though.</p>

<p>hahaha yes, i have. and the moment i did, i was at the top of the social pyramid.
ridiculous, right? ironically enough, now, when i hear people talk with the word “like” in every other sentence, it makes me want to punch their face out…
im just glad no one did that to me when i was going through that phase. teenagers do stupid things…</p>

<p>Social people can also be intelligent, so no. :-)</p>

<p>i did it in middle school.
but then again i think we all do it from time to time.</p>

<p>i think the key is understanding the importance of humility while staying try to yourself. Also, don’t hang out with people who bring you down. :]</p>

<p>Once didn’t work out well.</p>

<p>Me too I have that same problem. When I am around certain people I try to dumb myself down and use less sophisticated vocabulary so that people won’t see me as a braggart. Or won’t think I am trying to “act smart”</p>

<p>Nope. If you’ve got it, flaunt it. ;)</p>

<p>Short answer: yes
Long answer: yes until high school because grades actually start to matter in high school
Everyone thought I was a complete idiot in middle school. I get to high school, and everyone is like wow. Now I’m like the second smartest in a class of 617, and everybody around me is like… *** happened?</p>

<p>I wouldn’t consider myself so abnormally intelligent that it’s reached a point where I need to alter my personality. In public school, I was basically THE smart kid, but I had a good group of friends that never made a big deal of it/teased me over my grades. In private school, I’m one among many smart kids. Everyone’s at least slightly nerdy, and the kids who get perfect grades are the ones who get a lot of respect, if not some sort of popularity to go along with that.</p>

<p>I don’t think I’ve ever actually dumbed myself down. Well I’m sure in early high school I did to try and fit in better.</p>

<p>I do act differently around different sets of mates though, but thats not part of me changing myself. When I’m around my mates from football it’s different to my mates from university.</p>

<p>Not to fit in. I do it so people don’t expect too much ^^</p>

<p>I personally consider myself average intelligence, but organized and motivated. Somehow that makes me a potential val. I don’t “dumb myself down” because I am not significantly smarter than any other student in my class. I also dislike people who are like rank “1/500” and feel that because of that they are superior to the other 499 persons in the school.</p>

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<p>Well in an academic sense they are superior to the other 499 persons in the school, so if they didn’t feel academically superior then they would just be ignorant.</p>