Stereotypes:

Glasses, anti-social, bookworms, pretentious, waves hand in the air, has love affair with computers, competes in computer programming comps, teachers’ pets.

The Story:

We all know who they are. Or more accurately, what they look like. Glasses-bearing, anti-social recluses with their nose in a book and their hand constantly in the air. It seems that all movies in a high school setting characterize smart kids as nerds with no social lives that are constantly being shoved into lockers. (Let’s be honest, has anyone seen that happen in real life?) For some reason, most of society believes that smart kids are unable to take part in anything fun and have absolutely no desire to participate in sports events.

Defining smart is a difficult feat, since there are so many different ways to interpret it. Is smart hearing the Pythagorean theorem and regurgitating it on a timed test?  How is that any different from memorizing a baseball player’s statistics? Does that vary from remembering your cues and the exact note to sing? Are those people more astute than those who know  which colors complement each other and what techniques are ideal for shading? Everyone has the aptitude to be intelligent in their own respects. We are all nerds.

Students’ Views:

Lyric Muraoka, a well-spoken and intelligent freshmen, is not the stereotypical nerd in any sense. She is well-versed in the ways of the world; her sage advice spans far beyond her years. “I don’t view myself as a nerd or a brainiac, I view myself as (being) aware about my life and the lives around me,” said Muraoka (9).