Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I was born and raised by immigrant parents. I've never really been exposed to a stimulating environment. I'm a 22 year old female. I feel really stupid. I feel very uneducated, I've always studied hard in school but I feel like never know anything.
I honestly try to dedicate two hours of reading everyday but I don't feel like I'm learning anything, I've gotten to the point of note taking so maybe my brain will pick something up. I mostly realize how much I don't know when I hang out with others. I only know about popular things like Britney Spears and Family Guy.
I find it is so hard to just sit down and read/watch something (I'm just not interested in most things). Any knowledge that I have is extremely superficial. I've tried reading the newspaper (I find it to be a hard read), I've gone so far as getting back to the basics - reading high school text books (maybe I can learn something by reading easier material). I'll always hear something I don't know: a band name, a movie, some politician's name, a car model, a name of food, a town I don't know. I've never really been good at anything and I'm just not smart or I can't retain information at all. I really try but I'm not getting anywhere.
Whenever I talk to people, its always small talk, superficial conversations because I don't know a lot about anything. If they bring up a topic of interest - I just get quiet because just never know anything (I try to just share opinion because I lack knowledge of facts). I don't know what to do anymore.
And to further make you realize how dumb & pathetic I really am, I'm one of those girls that laugh a lot because I don't have anything to say or know anything.
General knowledge is a bit overrated. Being a warm and nice person is more important so your smile is probably much better received than knowing the location of a town on the map. And don't be afraid or feel ashamed when you have to ask someone about something "simple". If you want to learn new things first you need to be interested... once you are interested processing and retaining the information will go very easy.
First of all, stop being so hard on yourself.
Your post is well written and you've communicated your thoughts very well.
In fact, you've communicated better than many people on CD.
Your laughter is just a ploy to cover your insecurity.
Might I suggest that you find something that interests you - a craft, hobby, or the like.
Read what interests you, don't force yourself to read things that don't interest you; it will just play into your negative concept.
If you don't know how to figure it out, try different adult classes at your local community college. I took a stained glass class and fell in love with it. I found others who shared my passion. I also took a class in bridge and found a great community to play with.
Try something physical like yoga or tennis and see if either meets your needs.
You're young and inquisitive, you're going to be fine.
At 22 there is still so much to learn so don't be worry so much about it. Like chielgirl stated find something you like doing & apply yourself to that. Dont EVER sell yourself short & don't let anyone else do it either.
I was born and raised by immigrant parents. I've never really been exposed to a stimulating environment. I'm a 22 year old female. I feel really stupid. I feel very uneducated, I've always studied hard in school but I feel like never know anything.
I honestly try to dedicate two hours of reading everyday but I don't feel like I'm learning anything, I've gotten to the point of note taking so maybe my brain will pick something up. I mostly realize how much I don't know when I hang out with others. I only know about popular things like Britney Spears and Family Guy.
I find it is so hard to just sit down and read/watch something (I'm just not interested in most things). Any knowledge that I have is extremely superficial. I've tried reading the newspaper (I find it to be a hard read), I've gone so far as getting back to the basics - reading high school text books (maybe I can learn something by reading easier material). I'll always hear something I don't know: a band name, a movie, some politician's name, a car model, a name of food, a town I don't know. I've never really been good at anything and I'm just not smart or I can't retain information at all. I really try but I'm not getting anywhere.
Whenever I talk to people, its always small talk, superficial conversations because I don't know a lot about anything. If they bring up a topic of interest - I just get quiet because just never know anything (I try to just share opinion because I lack knowledge of facts). I don't know what to do anymore.
And to further make you realize how dumb & pathetic I really am, I'm one of those girls that laugh a lot because I don't have anything to say or know anything.
If it's any consolation, your post is an excellent example of grammar and punctuation, so you've learned something well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hamburglarchick12
I was born and raised by immigrant parents. I've never really been exposed to a stimulating environment. I'm a 22 year old female. I feel really stupid. I feel very uneducated, I've always studied hard in school but I feel like never know anything.
I honestly try to dedicate two hours of reading everyday but I don't feel like I'm learning anything, I've gotten to the point of note taking so maybe my brain will pick something up. I mostly realize how much I don't know when I hang out with others. I only know about popular things like Britney Spears and Family Guy.
I find it is so hard to just sit down and read/watch something (I'm just not interested in most things). Any knowledge that I have is extremely superficial. I've tried reading the newspaper (I find it to be a hard read), I've gone so far as getting back to the basics - reading high school text books (maybe I can learn something by reading easier material). I'll always hear something I don't know: a band name, a movie, some politician's name, a car model, a name of food, a town I don't know. I've never really been good at anything and I'm just not smart or I can't retain information at all. I really try but I'm not getting anywhere.
Whenever I talk to people, its always small talk, superficial conversations because I don't know a lot about anything. If they bring up a topic of interest - I just get quiet because just never know anything (I try to just share opinion because I lack knowledge of facts). I don't know what to do anymore.
And to further make you realize how dumb & pathetic I really am, I'm one of those girls that laugh a lot because I don't have anything to say or know anything.
I agree with the others that you must have learned at least how to write and convey meaning, so you are articulate. But realizing that you need to know more than just American "pop culture" is to your credit, for like I tell my students "educated people just know certain things"!
At 22 what is your job? I don't get the impression that you are going to college or have gone or you have learned something. Do you honestly remember nothing from high school that was taught? Was there something there that piqued your interest? Was there a novel that you just maybe "sorta" read that you could re-read that would be one that most Americans have read? It never hurts to re-read anything, for as we mature, we have more to bring to the book no matter what the topic. AND like I tell my students, "A good book is like a virgin; she never gives it all up the first time!"
I am glad you are trying to "learn things" and to read, but am concerned that you find the newspaper "hard" as in how? Or that you said have no interest in "anything", for how can that be?? How can you live a life and not be interested in at least one thing? Not be passsionate about one thing? Think about this for a moment as I have maybe only come across two students in 34 years of teaching who were just LUMPS of flesh.
Reading on one's own can boring if you don't have someone to talk to about what you have read. But if you don't remember what you have read, I suggest you actively read: meaning you underlind, highlight, make comments, question what was said etc. what I tell my students is "talking to your book". The reason I say this is, if you THINK this reading is a sort of punishment for not knowing things or if you find the topic boring, you are just reading the words called "sight reading" and that is not really reading where you will remember even the previous page!
Maybe you could take a course at a junior college in something that does interest you or join a book club or a net sight that discusses certain issues. The later may be a good starting point as you can remain anonymous; and what about this site here? Have you looked at the different topics and what people have to say??
Just some thoughts on this. But I want to tell you that I am impressed that you have seen your weakness and want to do something about it. Many would just rather be in that "fog of ignorance". And you are not unintelligent, just uninformed!
Last edited by Sagitarrius48; 10-16-2011 at 06:31 AM..
I was born and raised by immigrant parents. I've never really been exposed to a stimulating environment. I'm a 22 year old female. I feel really stupid. I feel very uneducated, I've always studied hard in school but I feel like never know anything.
I honestly try to dedicate two hours of reading everyday but I don't feel like I'm learning anything, I've gotten to the point of note taking so maybe my brain will pick something up. I mostly realize how much I don't know when I hang out with others. I only know about popular things like Britney Spears and Family Guy.
I find it is so hard to just sit down and read/watch something (I'm just not interested in most things). Any knowledge that I have is extremely superficial. I've tried reading the newspaper (I find it to be a hard read), I've gone so far as getting back to the basics - reading high school text books (maybe I can learn something by reading easier material). I'll always hear something I don't know: a band name, a movie, some politician's name, a car model, a name of food, a town I don't know. I've never really been good at anything and I'm just not smart or I can't retain information at all. I really try but I'm not getting anywhere.
Whenever I talk to people, its always small talk, superficial conversations because I don't know a lot about anything. If they bring up a topic of interest - I just get quiet because just never know anything (I try to just share opinion because I lack knowledge of facts). I don't know what to do anymore.
And to further make you realize how dumb & pathetic I really am, I'm one of those girls that laugh a lot because I don't have anything to say or know anything.
Well, you have at least one good social skill. You know when you don't know something.
I agree with the others, I think you are smarter than you give yourself credit for! 22 is still very young, and you are trying and learning and working on it. I sometimes feel the same way and I'm 55! There will always be people that are smarter than you, know more than you, have a higher IQ than you, but keep yourself open to learning. There are many subjects that I don't know much about. When in that situation, ask lots of questions. Other people love to talk about subjects they know about and you will gather some information in the mean time. Some people know loads of trivia, some people know a lot about certain topics, I'm afraid I only retain things that really interest me. Other things seem to just exit my brain! Keep doing what you're doing and be confident in who you are. Everyone has something to offer.
I actually wonder if at 22, you're trying to care about all the wrong things.
At your age, I wasn't concerned with news, or current affairs, merely what band was playing where, where we were meeting for a few beers, and who was dating who !
As I've matured, those things have become less important, and my interest in other things has grown.
I must admit, politics still bores the crap out of me tho, and I don't think I could name very many of our elected representatives !!
If you have something you are passionate about, even if it is pop culture, then you should never feel embarassed about it.
You can't force yourself to like things, and you won't learn if you aren't interested.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
But realizing that you need to know more than just American "pop culture" is to your credit, for like I tell my students "educated people just know certain things"!
