Nerd

Here is a list of why I think that I am a real nerd. Not one of those people who giggles and says "oh I'm such a nerd!" I mean a real, nerdish nerd.

Anyway, here is the list.

1. I took 6 AP courses in high school and entered college as a sophomore with 30 hours of credit.
2. I was the only girl on the Scholastic Bowl team. I was also co-captain.
3. I was in band, orchestra, marching band, and basketball band. I also played in district honors band and orchestra. For fun. Oh, and I am still in a community band today. Also for fun.
4. My major is one of the most liberal arty majors out there. If you were to rank my major on a "how useful will only a BA in my major be for getting a job related to what I studied" scale, it would probably come in a close third place, behind Philosophy and English. What was my major? History.
5. I did not major in History because I wanted to teach it. In fact, I avoided all thoughts of education when I switched my major from Chemistry to History. I had visions of grad school when I was 19. And I was excited about it.
6. I wrote and defended my senior honors thesis my junior year of college. I wrote about the history of computer science at the U of I. The topic interested me.
7. In 6 years at U of I, I completed a BA, cum laude and with distinction in History, I studied abroad for a semester, I completed a Master's Degree and I student taught for a semester.
8. I thought that I was going to attend MIT to get a PhD in the History of Science and Technology in Society Program. Then I finished my thesis and decided I'd had enough of writing...for now....
9. I am a librarian. A high school librarian. I teach classes on MLA style, research using databases, and evaluation of sources. And I Like it.
10. I read YA books, not because I have to, but because I enjoy them.
11. I read almost anything, really.
12. I have yet to meet a person who shares my music tastes. My taste is incredibly eclectic, from classical music to techno to classic rock to New Wave 80s music. You might find some songs that we have in common on my playlists, but most of the time, people do not recognize most of the music on my ipod.
13. I enjoy knowing about obscure things. See: my thesis. I love old movies and not really even the movies themselves, but the process that created them. See: the studio system. I have a fascination with old scientists, alchemy, Victorian Britain, India's days as the "jewel of the empire", the interwar years in Germany, the history of mental illness, Dadaism, surrealism, the streets of London, the Spanish Civil War, pastels, Toulouse Lautrec, the periodic table of the elements, SPDF notation, analog computers, Christian Louboutin, and celebrity blind items. All of these things contribute to the wide variety of things that I am interested in. Now try inserting those topics into regular conversation, and see how far it gets you. Also insert an obscure sense of humor and you will see why I am largely uninterested in many people. Of course, I can fake it as well as anyone, but my true friends understand that I enjoy being obscure and they grant me my little quirks.
14. My lifelong dream has been to be on Jeopardy! I took the test, and will be attending the in person audition on May 30. I am extremely excited about this!!!
15. I love Agatha Christie. I have over 40 of her mysteries and I also have all 5 of the books that she published under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. One of my favorite books ever is Unfinished Portrait by Mary Westmacott. Let me know if you've heard of that one....This book was given to me by my grandma several years ago, and I am eternally grateful to her for it, because Mary Westmacott books are out of print. I sucessfully located the other 4 books on ebay my sophomore year of college and I treasure them.
16. I read Agatha Christie books for the class issues and characterizations as much as the mystery. I understand English country life quite well because of it.
17. I played badminton in high school and quit my senior year because of AP tests. I do not regret it.

And that is why I am a nerd.