Mary McDaniel
Mrs. Price
College Writing
1 March 2010
Beauty and the Geek
While walking in the hallway at school, another student whizzes by. His pants are higher than normal, he has glasses, a lot of acne, and he carries so many books he can barely see over them, what is the first thing you think of? Most would think the stereotypical nerd. Nerds are seen as a loner because of the fact that they like to pursue intellectual activities quite passionately. They are usually over mature for their age and associate with like-minded people.
Then, further down the hallway, a group of kids walk past with their noses in the air. Their clothes are all name brand and they don’t even look at the others around them, talking and laughing as loud as they can. This is the stereotypical snob. Snobs feel a natural sense of superiority based on social skills and wealth. They usually admire people of a higher social class than themselves and putting down others is one of their favorite past times. They can even make up social codes and ranks just to exclude others.
From the outside these two stereotype groups look completely different, opposite ends of the spectrum. When looked at deeper, the realization comes that they are much the same. Nerds tend to keep quiet and to themselves or to a small group of kids. They feel uncomfortable in their own skin, like they don’t belong. They only come out of their shell around friends they know very well because they feel like they are not like everyone else.
Snobs, while they surround themselves with mounds of people, also feel like they don’t belong. They like to be around so many people because it makes them feel like they are accepted when in reality they feel just as lonely as the nerds. Although they seem like they have it all, they are empty. Seeking belonging is what their life is consumed of, that is why they feel the need to have people around them. They mask the fact that they don’t have that sense of belonging either.
One of the biggest quality traits of snobs is vanity. They are always worried about how they look and what others think of them. Fears of being judged are constantly running through their brain. When they wake up in the morning they spend hours getting ready just so they can be exactly like their friends. Being different means judgment. Snobs need to make sure that they have the best accessories, name brand clothes, everything top notch. It can be stressful for someone to have to constantly be scared that the things you own or the clothes you wear are not up to others standards.
On a day-to-day basis nerds typically deal with more judgment than a typical high school student. As a result, they stay inside their shells so people can’t say anything else about them. While in class, the nerds don’t usually raise their hand to answer questions, not because they don’t know the answer but because they don’t want to be outcast or judged by the rest of their class for knowing all of the answers. Nerds fear being judged just as much as snobs do. Judgment is not an easy thing to deal with, especially when you already have low self-esteem like nerds typically do, it can do even more damage.
Although, having more friends seems to get you a more popular status, quality is always better than quantity. Having a lot of friends is very important to snobs. They feel the more friends they have, the more popular they are, which seems to be true. But how true are the friends they have? Most friends of the snobs are only friends with people for the publicity they receive or for their wealth. Snobs put on a mask for the world so they are not judged, their true self is never revealed. As soon as one turns their back, their “friend” betrays them. Nerds want to stay in the close-knit group they form.
They might not have as many friends but at least they know their real, they are more genuine to each other. Nerds aren’t masked like snobs when they meet someone new so their friends know exactly what kind of person they are from the very beginning. Although people tend to judge nerds in a negative way, they are the ones with the true friends.
Although nerds and snobs have similar qualities seen on the inside, ultimately they are very different. Their feelings towards judgment and belonging may be the same; their friendships with others are vastly different. With such a big difference, their lifestyles are different as well. Snobs might appear to be happy on the outside, but without the right friends, and the stress of being the best, inside they aren’t. Nerds, on the other hand, look sad or scared on the outside, but on the inside are happier. They have a solid group of friends that give them the confidence they need to be who they are.