The first thing everyone does on the first day of class is scan the room searching for any resemblance of a nerd. Why? Because they are being resourceful. Nerds are smart push overs who are easy to target and to cushion to your calculus grade. Am I right?
         

Wrong. Nerds are people, too. They have consciences, you know.  And pride. And integrity. And determination to do their best (which does not include letting the self-righteous popular jock cheat off them in calculus). Besides, just because someone looks like a nerd, does not mean they are a nerd. For example…
          

Glasses. Nerds wear glasses.
         

But for Pete’s sake! Not everyone in this world has perfect vision. I need reading glasses. Does that make me a nerd? No.
         

What about broken glasses? You know, like the ones worn by Harry Potter (the wizard from Hogwarts that is You-Know-Who’s arch nemesis).  Maybe they just want to be like him. And I don’t blame them. People have self-esteem issues, and if idolizing a fictional character gives them the force to save the galaxy, then so be it. We have bigger issues on our hands. Besides, I admire Harry Potter’s tenacity to stick it to You-Know-Who, and that doesn’t make me a nerd.
           

And what about suspenders? Nerds wear suspenders.
           

True, “nerds” do wear suspenders. At least that is what pop culture tells us. But tons of other people wear suspenders, too.  Like farmers. The last thing you want to happen when you are busy working in the field under the hot sun is have your pants fall down. It’s called a plumber’s crack for a reason! And Grandpas. My grandpa wears suspenders. Not because he is a nerd, but because he grew up in a time when suspenders were the “hip” thing to wear to hold up your pants. Wearing suspenders is nostalgic to him. Don’t stereotype him because he likes to remember his childhood. We are all children at heart.
           

Then, what about unkempt hair? Nerds have unkempt hair.
           

I have a perfectly reasonable explanation for having unkempt hair. The water was shut off. No water means no shower, and no shower means unkempt hair. This is not just something that happens to people who forget to pay their bills for months on end. I pay my bills, and my water got shut off today, no joke. The maintenance company had to fix a water leak. Having your water shut off happens to the best of us (and it doesn’t make you a nerd).
           

So maybe having glasses or suspenders or unkempt hair doesn’t make you a nerd. Surely wearing one’s shirt buttoned up does. Nerds wear their shirts buttoned up all the way up to their ears.
           

Maybe nerds do button their shirts all the way. But so does every single other Westernized business person in this entire planet. They are called “white-collared workers” for a reason.
           

Mass multimedia has done a fantastic job of creating stereotypes for people. That does not make any stereotype true. It is time we start ignoring the garbage mass multimedia injects into our lives.  The beauty of humanity lies in the fact that everyone is unique.  Life would be boring if everyone looked and acted the same.
           

‘Nerds’ have the right idea. They don’t worry about stereotypes. Maybe it’s time we start taking notes from them instead of asking them to take our notes for us. So next time you scan the room habitually in search of a “nerd”, think twice about using them for an easy ‘A’. Looks are deceiving.