anyone who wasn't a complete nerd in high school?

[RunnerGrad]

*the math team - my school didn't have this

*Chess team - my school didn't have this

*band geek

*took all AP/IB classes - my city didn't have these (they are common now in Canada, but not when I was in high school)

*did research - no opportunities available

*tutored 

*spent summers interning - nope

*involved in academic extracurriculars 

*competed in a Spelling Bee - not past grade school

*spent years studying for the SAT/ACT - not required in Canada

*dreamed about getting into college - not college, college in Canada is community college (so diploma/certificate programs, not university) so I definitely didn't dream of "only" going to college - that was for people who wanted to get into the trades, etc.

*dreamed about getting into grad school - nope - as the first person in my family to even go to university, grad school definitely wasn't even on my radar

*took college classes - this kind of opportunity wasn't available in my city, however there was a week of classes at universities every year (during the university reading weeks) for strong students - we didn't get credit for it though

*took classes for college credit - this kind of opportunity wasn't available in my city

*studied a few hours every day

*studied on weekends

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

Believe it or not, I was a nerd AND a geek. AP classes and extracurriculars up the wazoo, 3.9 GPA, but all of my hobbies involved anime, manga, cosplay, and indie comics, so my friends were all into that stuff too. All of the other honors students did NOT get it … they thought I was pretty weird for hanging out with a bunch of people who for the most part didn't give a damn about their grades. 

 

@Gnome Chomsky: yup, the alternative to being a nerd or a geek in my small town was definitely meth or serious weed (I'm talking about growing acres of it in the forest and running a whole operation of trimmers and dealers - can you guess where I'm from?).

I was originally thinking somewhere in the Midwest (Nebraska comes to mind). But all the weed growing stuff now has me thinking somewhere in the Northwest (Oregon comes to mind).

[TakeruK]

*the math team -- didn't exist (or I would have )

*Chess team -- didn't exist

*band geek -- nope

*took all AP/IB classes -- my school only had one but I didn't take it

*did research -- didn't even know what this was until middle of undergrad

*tutored -- guilty! 

*spent summers interning -- nope, summers were for fun!

*involved in academic extracurriculars -- my school didn't have any

*competed in a Spelling Bee -- I don't think these exist in Canada past elementary school level (didn't do it then either though)

*spent years studying for the SAT/ACT-- not necessary in Canada

*dreamed about getting into college -- yep, university was definitely a goal! 

*dreamed about getting into grad school -- didn't know what grad school really was until my second year at university!

*took college classes -- nope

*took classes for college credit -- nope

*studied a few hours every day -- well, doing homework every day? 

*studied on weekends -- only to complete homework and study for tests

*anything else I haven't though of -- As a high school student, I felt like my "job" was to be good at school. My parents worked, made food, paid the bills etc. so my contribution to the family was doing well at school. So that's pretty nerdy I think!

[bsharpe269]

I was an IB nerd but never got into geeky hobbies.

 

I ran track and cross country as my main extra curricular and various volunteer activies.

[maelia8]

@Gnome you hit the nail on the head - I'm from Southern Oregon/Northern California. 

[ss2player]

Nah, I was a total slacker in HS, but still was in the top 10% of my class, which I attribute to our curriculum being awful (ranked bottom 20% in the state, WHAT WHAT!). I also derped around in college after transferring to a big university but got my shit together by the end. Nowadays I take my grades very seriously and have been called a "gunner". 

Feels weird, man.

[spectastic]

according to that list, I was a nerd... fuck!

[victorydance]

Yes.

 

C-/C average. Didn't give a damn. Was a delinquent. Got suspended multiple times. Never, ever, did any homework.

 

I barely even graduated. Went into my Chemistry final sitting on a 51% and got a 55% on my exam to pass and graduate.

[lasercats11]

My school didn't have most of these programs and academic standards were pretty low, so I didn't really spend much time on my academics in high school because I didn't have to. High school was a time for playing all the sports, even the ones I didn't really like. I kind of miss it because now my main form of exercise is running up and down the stairs between my lab and the centrifuge room.

[talpostal]

Didn't do anything on your list. My main thing in high school was sports.

[cruz083]

Was a nerd that did sports (Baseball and Soccer) and was a pretty good left-handed pitcher but when I got to college I made the choice to make a career through academia instead of athletics.  Now next fall Im going to get a PhD in medicinal chemistry at U of Utah! Turning to academia was the best decision Ive ever made

[VioletAyame]

Yeah, I didn't mean nerd as in someone who, for example, reads comics, plays WOW, watches Battlestar Gallactica, etc (I would consider that a geek). I meant nerd in the sense of a super do-gooder, like most of us probably are now and have been throughout our college careers. 

 

I'd consider myself a nerd as of the past 5 or so years. Never been a geek though. Never was much of anything you could fit in a category, I don't think. 

I always find that disctinction a bit hazy, and I've heard many different opinions about those 2 labels. I didn't go to high school in the US, so not until my college years did I get to know what they mean. I have to say they're a very American thing. We do have the archetypes of the overachiever, bookworm and teacher's pet, but not particularly in line with the connotation of being a nerd or a geek and in no way are that derided in high schools. But if you mean being (overly) serious about grades, follow rules, super do-gooder, then yes I absolutely was one, and still am, even though I didn't do anything on the list!

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

I always find that disctinction a bit hazy, and I've heard many different opinions about those 2 labels. I didn't go to high school in the US, so not until my college years did I get to know what they mean. I have to say they're a very American thing. We do have the archetypes of the overachiever, bookworm and teacher's pet, but not particularly in line with the connotation of being a nerd or a geek and in no way are that derided in high schools. But if you mean being (overly) serious about grades, follow rules, super do-gooder, then yes I absolutely was one, and still am, even though I didn't do anything on the list!

That really was what I meant with this whole thread. I didn't mean any type of social circle (which I consider a geek). I meant, like you said, overly serious about grades, following rules, and being a super do-gooder. I asked because I know most of us are now, since we're applying to some of the top grad programs. But I was wondering if people have always been like this. Personally, I couldn't imagine being the way I am now when I was a kid. It's way too stressful and not a way for a kid to live. I remember reading a non-fiction book a few years about out of the most elite high schools in the country. These kids were pulling all-nighters 3 times a week studying. Not to mention, they were involved in extracircculars and classes from 7 am to 10 pm Monday through Friday. 

[VioletAyame]

That really was what I meant with this whole thread. I didn't mean any type of social circle (which I consider a geek). I meant, like you said, overly serious about grades, following rules, and being a super do-gooder. I asked because I know most of us are now, since we're applying to some of the top grad programs. But I was wondering if people have always been like this. Personally, I couldn't imagine being the way I am now when I was a kid. It's way too stressful and not a way for a kid to live. I remember reading a non-fiction book a few years about out of the most elite high schools in the country. These kids were pulling all-nighters 3 times a week studying. Not to mention, they were involved in extracircculars and classes from 7 am to 10 pm Monday through Friday.

It was NOT a fun way to grow up; I would not recommend it To my parents' credit, they did not push me to do anything I didn't want to - I myself did all the pressuring. I was just born that way I guess. While other people learn to buckle down and get serious, I had to learn to relax and take it easy. I'm definitely more fun now than I was at 15 So yeah, being serious and overachieving did give me a lot of advantages, but now if I see a kid like that I would try to talk some sense of balance into their head.

[TakeruK]

That really was what I meant with this whole thread. I didn't mean any type of social circle (which I consider a geek). I meant, like you said, overly serious about grades, following rules, and being a super do-gooder. I asked because I know most of us are now, since we're applying to some of the top grad programs. But I was wondering if people have always been like this. Personally, I couldn't imagine being the way I am now when I was a kid. It's way too stressful and not a way for a kid to live. I remember reading a non-fiction book a few years about out of the most elite high schools in the country. These kids were pulling all-nighters 3 times a week studying. Not to mention, they were involved in extracircculars and classes from 7 am to 10 pm Monday through Friday. 

 

 

It was NOT a fun way to grow up; I would not recommend it To my parents' credit, they did not push me to do anything I didn't want to - I myself did all the pressuring. I was just born that way I guess. While other people learn to buckle down and get serious, I had to learn to relax and take it easy. I'm definitely more fun now than I was at 15 So yeah, being serious and overachieving did give me a lot of advantages, but now if I see a kid like that I would try to talk some sense of balance into their head.

 

I think I also went from being super-serious-about-school-only to someone who has other interests as I grew up (i.e. during college). I was not as "intense" as Gnome Chomsky's book on elite high school students (never pulled all-nighters and didn't do much school stuff after school, but I was involved in a non-academic youth group). I did definitely took my studies seriously (what I would also define as "nerdy") in high school. Part of it was my parents' influence but like VioletAyame, a lot of it was self-imposed. One example motivator that would be an example of both was that I knew my parents immigrated to Canada and left everything behind so that their children can grow up and succeed in a better country. 

 

I agree with VioletAyame that I would definitely encourage my past self to be more balanced, if time travel were possible! It's complicated though -- during my teenage years, I found it tough finding an "identity" but one thing I could rely on was people's expectations of me to do well in school so I kind of just went with that since I didn't know what else I could be!

Edited April 22, 2014 by TakeruK

[spectastic]

I've had a rather pathetic upbringing, where my parents wanted me to be one of those school nerds, get straight A's, go to private school, and become a doctor. I resisted with every fucking fiber of my being by participating in sports, because I actually liked it. But the cost of it all was that our household became extremely dysfunctional, which caused a ripple effect in my personal/family life as well as my academic career, some of which I believe still affects me to this day, with grad school admissions in particular. I have some terrible grades on my college transcript that I don't know how to explain in a professional manner other than something along the lines of "due to personal reasons" or something vague.

 

I could've been a good nerd, but there are nerds who are born that way, and then there are sock puppet nerds whose parents got their hands so far up their asses that it builds a bubble until the bubble bursts. I refused to be a latter. Sometimes, tiger mom tactics work, but I won't be taking any part in it.

[maelia8]

@VioletAyame, I also did all of the pressuring myself! My mother didn't get a degree and my father went to a very low-ranked state school, and both of them had solid C averages in high school. When I ended up getting straight A's and telling my parents that I needed to do all of those extracurriculars to get into a good college, they were just kind of bemused. All they ever told me was that I had to pass, the rest I made myself do - staying up until 3am studying for AP exams, being on 5 different committees and two volunteer groups, the whole shebang. When I applied to university and decided to go to a small elite private liberal arts college rather than the big state school everyone went to, my dad told me, "Sweetie, you got a full ride at the state school, why don't you go there?" I just looked at him and thought, are you kidding me? I'd rather take out a few thousand in loans per year and go to the elite school, sorry dad.

 

I know a lot of kids whose parents pressured them into getting good grades and being super academically involved, and by the end of high school most of them pretty much hated their parents. Because my parents had no expectations of me, getting good grades was something that I did for myself, and I always felt good about it. I would never pressure my kids to do that though - I'll just have the same rules as my parents did: pass and I'll be happy

[JessePinkman]

I wasnt a nerd nor did I do any of things like a non-nerd would do (booze,sex,girls,party) ! I dont know what I was! Haha.

[LMac]

High school drop out here. Glad to see there's a couple of us around. I wasn't a nerd, but was seriously awkward in a "hanging out behind the school, sneaking cigarettes" kind of way. At 16 I dropped out and moved out of my parents house into my first apt. I got that rebelliousness out of my system quickly, got my GED, went to community college, transferred to a 4-year university and got my bachelors. To call my GPA mediocre would be generous. After taking a few years off I went back and took some post-bac classes and was shocked to realize I'm no longer the same student I was. Finally, my full nerdiness came through, I got good grades, and I'm about to finish my first year in my PhD program.

[wildviolet]

Just curious if there's anyone out there. It's hard to tell now because we're all older and so caught up in our little words. Just wondering if there's anyone out there who none of the following applies to: 

 

In high school, you were NOT involved in: 

 

*the math team --> Yes, but only because my friends were, I actually wasn't very good at math

*Chess team --> I don't think we had a chess team, but if we did, I didn't know about it

*band geek --> Orchestra and choir, not band (those people tended to be different from the orchestra/choir people)

*took all AP/IB classes  --> Yes

*did research --> Yes

*tutored --> Yes, as part of an AP class requirement

*spent summers interning  --> Kind of, one summer I did spend doing intensive research at the local university

*involved in academic extracurriculars --> Not really

*competed in a Spelling Bee --> No

*spent years studying for the SAT/ACT --> a good summer

*dreamed about getting into college  --> Yes

*dreamed about getting into grad school --> Yes

*took college classes --> No

*took classes for college credit --> No

*studied a few hours every day --> Yes

*studied on weekends --> Yes

*anything else I haven't though of --> Dance and musical theater productions, regional choir, singing competitions

 

My high school program was an accelerated (i.e., AP-based, college-prep) program within a large comprehensive and diverse high school. So all these things that you listed were/are part of the culture of college prep programs, I suppose. I enjoyed it for the most part--I didn't always study as hard as I could have, I hated doing math homework, and I slacked off sometimes, but still pulled off decent grades (A's and B's). Looking back, I guess I would consider myself a "nerd," but when I was in high school, "nerd" was a bad word, glasses were not cool (like they are today), and since everyone in my program was a "nerd," none of us really stood out.

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

I've had a rather pathetic upbringing, where my parents wanted me to be one of those school nerds, get straight A's, go to private school, and become a doctor. I resisted with every fucking fiber of my being by participating in sports, because I actually liked it. But the cost of it all was that our household became extremely dysfunctional, which caused a ripple effect in my personal/family life as well as my academic career, some of which I believe still affects me to this day, with grad school admissions in particular. I have some terrible grades on my college transcript that I don't know how to explain in a professional manner other than something along the lines of "due to personal reasons" or something vague.

 

I could've been a good nerd, but there are nerds who are born that way, and then there are sock puppet nerds whose parents got their hands so far up their asses that it builds a bubble until the bubble bursts. I refused to be a latter. Sometimes, tiger mom tactics work, but I won't be taking any part in it.

I know what you mean by sock puppet nerds. I saw the National Spelling Bee a year or two ago (it was on ESPN) and the kid who won, this like 12-year old Indian-American kid, was asked what his plans were for the summer, and he looked at his dad to answer, and his dad said he'd be studying physics all summer to get into a good college. 

 

I'd shoot myself. 

[DerpTastic]

The only one on that list was that I knew I was going to college. (Just because my family almost never made me believe not going was an option). My GPA in high school was actually somewhere around 0.2 lower, and I did generally all homework the day it was due, in the period before it was due. I've sort of lost that bad habit.

[Kleene]

*did research

*tutored

*involved in academic extracurriculars

*took college classes

 

I am not a sock puppet nerd. In fact, both of my parents barely graduated high school. My sister did not graduate at all. All of them not because of a lack of intelligence, but because of an aversion to school. Unfortunately, I 'inherited' this aversion. Particularly middle school and high school were hard on me. Somehow I have a very hard time being forced to 'study' material I mastered years earlier. Therefore, I always tried to spend my time in school doing something useful. Otherwise I would feel like crap and be exhausted all the time. So I joined the science club, participated in maths and linguistics contests, etc. I enrolled in university part-time. Other than that I did absolutely nothing but trying to get through the day. At 16 I was very close to dropping out, depressed and such. Eventually I graduated early to live up to my full nerd potential at university. Ever since I have been a true nerd. At the moment I am officially taking courses, doing research and working for a total 105 hours a week. I have no life other than studying, researching and teaching. But hey, I am a nerd, gotta enjoy it.

 

The bottom line: I am a nerd. I love to learn. However, before full-time university I had never experienced that learning could take place at school, of all places!

Edited April 22, 2014 by Kleene

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

*did research

*tutored

*involved in academic extracurriculars

*took college classes

 

I am not a sock puppet nerd. In fact, both of my parents barely graduated high school. My sister did not graduate at all. All of them not because of a lack of intelligence, but because of an aversion to school. Unfortunately, I 'inherited' this aversion. Particularly middle school and high school were hard on me. Somehow I have a very hard time being forced to 'study' material I mastered years earlier. Therefore, I always tried to spend my time in school doing something useful. Otherwise I would feel like crap and be exhausted all the time. So I joined the science club, participated in maths and linguistics contests, etc. I enrolled in university part-time. Other than that I did absolutely nothing but trying to get through the day. At 16 I was very close to dropping out, depressed and such. Eventually I graduated early to live up to my full nerd potential at university. Ever since I have been a true nerd. At the moment I am officially taking courses, doing research and working for a total 105 hours a week. I have no life other than studying, researching and teaching. But hey, I am a nerd, gotta enjoy it.

 

The bottom line: I am a nerd. I love to learn. However, before full-time university I had never experienced that learning could take place at school, of all places!

What is a linguistics competition? And I didn't know they taught linguistics in high school. I'm a linguistics major so it's interesting to me. Did they have you like draw a syntax tree or transcribe a word in narrow phonetics?

[Kleene]

What is a linguistics competition? And I didn't know they taught linguistics in high school. I'm a linguistics major so it's interesting to me. Did they have you like draw a syntax tree or transcribe a word in narrow phonetics?

As far as I know linguistics is rarely taught in high school, but there do exist competitions. These competitions are mainly about finding patterns in obscure languages and applying them to new data. More about the US competition: http://www.naclo.cs.cmu.edu/

 

I took a year's worth of linguistics courses. I actually wanted to double major in linguistics and CS, but the linguistics department turned out to be quite rigid in their requirements to attend lectures despite maintaining a 4.0 GPA.