hard on the third paragraph. grades in my school are heavily reliant on speaking in class + presentations (or rather, the easiest way to get an A is class participation). and you made a really great point about peers perceiving you as smart if you are confident and manage to articulate yourself well. i struggle a lot with articulating myself well as the only way i can overcome my blocks is by using filler words like "um" or "uh". it makes me look like i'm unsure of what i'm saying, which definitely has an impact on my grades but all in all, thank you for this. i needed to hear this today <3