“How did you do better than me?” my friend asked astonished when we got our tests back. I shrugged. Because I studied for the past week and I pay attention in class. Honestly, this isn’t the first time people assumed I don’t excel academically. The amount of times I have heard someone ask, “Wait you’re actually smart?” is ridiculous. I understand where it comes from though. All my life I’ve been a class clown, looking at the comical side of life. Moreover, I have naturally bright blonde hair. This combination can be deadly. I’ll give it to them sometimes, especially when I try to impersonate famous people and do the sprinkler at parties. Like any girl, I like to dress up and layer on makeup when I go out. Who cares?

I laugh at life. I can’t look at things pessimistically and so far it’s a great way to think. Yet, this doesn’t mean I don’t care about my future. This doesn’t mean I’m trying to mooch off of some guy for the rest of my life and my biggest concern is whether my nails are manicured. When people judged me, I learned to laugh. I used to think that wearing pink would make me look too ditzy. I used to think if I cracked a dorky joke I would look like a huge idiot. I genuinely used to be afraid of people thinking I was a dumb blonde. Now, I look back and think why should I ever care? My actions, my future, and my accomplishments can speak for their selves. Think whatever you want. It’s a terrible stereotype. It used to make me apprehensive to speak. Now, I look at people’s faces when we get tests back and I have this little sense of pride. It pushes me to do better. Being stereotyped makes me want to work harder.

I hope one day I can walk into a fortune five hundred company and have someone ask, “Excuse me are you a secretary?”

“No, I am your boss.”