I'm No Expert

I have a confession, I was a geek. Well, that's not quite true, I was actually a nerd. A stringy haired, thick glasses wearing, too smart for my own good nerd. While I eventually grew into a, shall we say, freak, I spent most of my youth firmly planted in Nerdland. I was mocked, tortured and teased, but none of that kept me from being a know-it-all. I had no problem sharing knowledge with anyone no matter how inappropriate the situation or how much I actually knew. As I grew, I learned to qualify my statements so that it was clear that I knew there was a chance that I was wrong. I now try my hardest to not talk down to people and to never mislead people into thinking that I know more than I actually do.

I believe giving you this background will help you understand why it is that I am so confused. You see, people keep thinking that I am an expert or authority on both tatting and jewelry. Etsy is full of people with amazing resumes, they've attended fashion and art schools, been published and taught, they've gone through apprenticeships and earned their knowledge through years of hard work. I am not one of them. I taught myself tatting just a few years ago with the help of a book and the Internet. I have zero education in the jewelry field. It took my months just to figure out what a headpin was for and I know nothing of color theory or design fundamentals. I am just simply muddling through.

I continue to get questions and comments that infer that I know much more than I really do. I find myself wondering how it is that I have given the impression that I have all the answers. I really have tried to be upfront about my qualifications, yet they keep asking. Oh, I do answer the questions, but not without a thorough Google search. I do have the skill necessary to find the answers, but I am still perplexed. What is it that I do or say that inspires this faith in my knowledge? I suppose I should be happy that people trust me and look to me for answers, it is certainly better than being called four eyes every time I answer a question.