on cohesive identities and social signaling - by Ava

I grew up with an inability to decipher social cues. I was aware that my behavior was “weird,” but I was so oblivious to the nuances of social behavior that I didn’t understand why it was off-putting. There’s this great line from a David Foster Wallace essay about a pack of wolf cubs and how being a smart nerdy kid is the equivalent of being a runt—you’re the one who shows weakness and everyone else instinctively attacks. During high school a lot of things clicked into place, thanks to copious amounts of public speaking (debate! Model UN! speech club!) and the sudden increased interest in