I didn't grow up with parents who knew how to have intelligent conversations. I remember even in grade school envying those kids who knew what was going on & could have intelligent conversations about current events with the teacher.

I went from living with parents to married when I was 21 & junior in college. Thought intelligent husband would help but in reality he was narrowly focused. Even in my engineering career, Conversations were mostly about work tho at least they were intelligent.

By the end of living 33 years in the bad marriage the only conversations were fighting. I was still craving being able to be around intelligent people who could just have a normal let alone intelligent conversation.

I finally left & moved 2100 miles away & started a new life. First thing I did was get involved in the library book club. Read the book & once a month discussed what we read. I was so shocked that I retained what I read & was able to discuss it in the group setting. Sort of proving to myself that I wasn't as incompetent as I thought I was. I am now surrounded by intelligent people who know how to have normal conversations. For so long I thought I had the inability to have the discussions but realize now that it was my surroundings not just me that was the problem.