Confessions of a grade 9 nerd"- How the idea of the “nerd” has evolved over time as well as the mindset of the modern day high schooler, through the lens of a grade 9 high school student. 

 

What is a nerd? I grew up believing a nerd was someone who is weird, unattractive, and a huge know-it all. The type that was made popular in the 1980s, when social cliques and social “ranking” were portrayed in classic movies and shows. They used familiar terms such as jocks, nerds, and the “popular kids” to classify status and one's “designated social group”. However, these ideas of popularity and status have evolved over time, along with the mindset and priorities of the modern day high schooler. 

 

 Although the idea of a “nerd” was conceived as a negative adjective, over time society has started using it to portray someone who is a hard worker, an academic achiever, or someone who is extremely passionate and/or knows alot about a subject. Nowadays it isn't weird or uncool to care about work or to get good grades and the majority of high school students don’t care about being a bit “nerdy”.The modern day high schooler has ultimately normalized the nerd and some are even proud to be one. Such as yours truly. 

 

Something that I have observed during my time at John Fraser is that the majority of students are very driven. I don’t just mean academically but with extracurriculars too. There are 1 000 clubs you can join at John Fraser and all of which only accept the best applicants. The average high school student attends 2-3 extracurriculars each week. Between extracurriculars, clubs, school work load, and the 40 hours of mandatory volunteering it can be overwhelming and difficult to balance it all. 

 

As we grow up we consider high school to be a terrifying place. There is a well known stigma of highschool experiences, mainly created from the media we see as young children. For instance, all the assemblies and lessons we would have about peer pressure and bullying gave the idea that these were things that would inevitably happen in highschool. Although it is important to teach kids about these topics to teach them how to handle such issues, it is also important to let them know that highschool and getting older is not something to be afraid of. 

 

The main thing to remember in highschool is you are only just learning who you are so it is important to slow down and not hide who you really are. Find what you are passionate about and run with that because now is the time to figure it out. Take time for yourself, live your teenage years how you want to, act super childish, be total idiots with your friends, stop thinking about the opinions of others. 

 

Embrace your inner nerd.