Am I stupid because I can’t pass a multiple choice test? If you gave me a short answer response, there’s probably a 50% chance I would get it right. If you gave me an essay I would have an extremely high chance of getting the full possible amount of points. Everybody is different, we have different strengths, weaknesses, and we all express ourselves different. Can a person’s intelligence really be determined by a score they get on a test? I don’t believe so.

One thing that really bothers me is that a lot of people are very judgmental or act like they are better than someone merely because of their level of intelligence. This type of judging is common between all kinds of people; adults and children. Judging someone on how smart you think they are is equally as wrong as judging someone on how they look, who they are, the things they like, etc. What honestly gives you the right to judge someone for any reason? It’s wrong, hurts people and is entirely unfair.

I strongly believe that a person’s intelligence depends on the effort they put into things, not that certain people are born with some special gift. There are definitely many factors that apply to this, and there are exceptions to every rule. I think that the way a person grows up, the environment they are in, the parents they have, and all of the resources they have play a really big part in shaping a person’s intelligence. Some people are very good at math, but they can’t spell. Some people just aren’t fit for the way school works with grades and tests, but in the real world they will become very successful. We all have our flaws, even in the way our brains work. Everyone has flaws, and in reality, by judging we all hurt one another and become insecure than push it onto others, but there is really no need. This world would be a much better place if people could learn to be accepting of others, for the good and bad things.

On a personal level, I am exceptionally well at explaining myself and writing what I think or feel. However, I fail almost every multiple choice test because when I see the other answers everything gets jumbled up in my head and I can’t distinguish what the write one is, even if I know. I start to think about how it could be a certain answer if they meant this or that, and I start to create scenarios, where if I could write it out I would be able to explain my thinking, in which it would be known that I actually do understand what I am talking about. I know there are many people who would prefer to have multiple choice rather than essay questions. Yet, both sets of people can be equally as intelligent.

What does it mean to be smart or intelligent, then? How can we measure a person’s intelligence? I guess that it’s all a matter of opinion, but it’s definitely not by means of a test. In my eyes, a truly smart person is not someone who does not need to do work, but still does excellent on tests and in their grades. A truly smart person would do the work, regardless of whether or not they need to. Smart is about being humble and not acting like you are better than others for any reason. Smart is also a matter of accepting everyone as an individual human being with feelings that should be respected, trying your hardest all the time, always striving for improvement and excelling in your own personal way of intelligence.