I’m a so called “dork” at school, and I’m not saying that to put myself down. I take pride in my dorky ness, in getting good grades, loving to read, and being trusted by my teachers. The unfortunate and absolutely ridiculous thing is that the kids who aren’t like this think that I’m weird because I’m not trying to fit into the mold they’re trying to fit into.

I don’t understand this for many reasons. First of all, all the people we rely on, like doctors, government officials, and layers, must have been nerds in high school. Who wants to rely on a complete idiot when it comes to our health or the issues we care about? It seems to me that these people tend to get more respect in the world than the fifty-year-olds working at McDonalds’ and the drug addicts.

Another thing that strikes me as odd is the way people mock me for obeying my parents. Sure, I could totally rebel and date before I turn sixteen, or I could get a MySpace behind my parents’ back, but that would be stupid. They’d lose their trust in me if they ever found out, and I’d most likely lose even more privileges. And it’s not like they’re trying to ruin my life. They’re trying to protect me.

Additionally, making fun of me in class because I’m not afraid to make a joke, be silly, or simply be myself doesn’t make you look any cooler. It makes you look like a loser who’s too afraid to step out of the mold in fear of being disliked, so you pick on others who aren’t afraid to be different to feel better about yourself. Yeah, you look like a fun person to be around…not.

Finally, those Abercrombie and Fitch kids who do, in fact, find enjoyment in picking on the kids who don’t care about what others think about them are the real weirdos. Some of these people are the ones who spend their nights out at bonfires smoking pot, drinking some unknown, alcoholic substance, and losing their virginity in someone else’s bathroom. Then they wake up the next morning hungover, high, and possibly pregnant. Is that supposed to sound appealing to me? I believe that the people who get involved in this garbage are the weakest ones. Those with high self esteem don’t really feel like clogging their lungs with cigarette smoke and destroying brain cells with liquor. They don’t need to do that stuff to escape reality when they’re upset. They have something called self respect. I’m one of those people, so don’t try to stomp on me when you’re really the one who’s destroying your life.

I’m sure I sound harsh, and incredibly stereotypical. The truth is, someone may wear Abercrombie and Fitch clothing and be a total sweetheart, or maybe your mom or dad owns a McDonalds’ store nearby. I’m certainly not saying that either of those is a bad thing. What I am saying is that I frown upon the people who don’t care about anything but their boyfriends and the ones who roll their eyes at the teacher when they get yelled at for putting make-up on in the middle of Math class. Then they scoff at me when I answer a question about verb conjugations. I should be scoffing at them for being an airhead.