Growing up I was often categorized as the "nerd" in the classroom. Often the first one to raise my hand to answer a question or ask one, I was definitely "that kid" in class.

If there is one thing I've learned in college, loving to learn isn't something to be ashamed of.

Back in high school, I remember days where I came to school at 7:00 in the morning to review for exams or AP tests and would then stay until 4:30 or 5:00 after school to review even more information or look over information for a different class entirely.

I'd feel strange as I was the first car in the student parking lot in the morning and the last car there in the afternoon.

In college, however, I've learned to embrace my air quote "nerd" status and realized that being called a nerd is actually a compliment. It means someone took notice of the fact that you love to learn and guess what? I do!

I love learning.

I have plenty of friends who can't wait to finish their undergrad, and I'm over here looking forward to the next three years of graduate level education.

Learning is an opportunity that too many of us take for granted. You aren't guaranteed the opportunity to have access to higher-education, and in some countries, they would love to have these resources available to them.

The love of learning isn't a bad thing, and I personally believe that we should always be striving to improve and challenging ourselves to learn something new whether that be in a formal classroom setting or in the workplace, we should never become complacent in our growth and learning.

And if you think it's too late to go back to school, you're wrong. It's never too late to go back to school or continue your schooling. It's never too late to want to learn more about something and become a fuller version of yourself, to become more well-educated on a certain matter.

So, yeah, I am a nerd, and I do love learning. I've gotta say — I'm pretty proud of it.