From the time I was a child, I was always referred to as a "nerd." I was the girl who would have her hand raised before the teacher could finish her question and had a comment on everything we did. I had three notebooks instead of one and never missed a homework assignment. I was never late to class and always paid attention. I was an overachiever and a teacher's pet. I never understood how people could stare into blank space during class as if the words being spoken by their peers and teachers were nonsense. I questioned others unwillingness to learn vocally and intrinsically.

As I started middle school, I began to become embarrassed about my ways. Classmates would roll their eyes as I put my hand up to answer a question and applauded me for a wrong answer. Within a few weeks, I stopped doing this. I was secretive about my knowledge and tried to hide the thoughts that went through my head as a teacher was speaking. I tried to not pay attention and secretly talk to my friends during class, but I just could not. My conscious would not let me, it forced me to pay attention and to absorb all of the knowledge that I could. I never quite got the middle school fad of casualness in class.

As high school rolled around, I became less and less embarrassed of my love for learning, and now in college, my love for learning is what allows me to succeed. I appreciate the process of learning, the process of seeing, understanding, and accepting what is in front of me. I enjoy knowing and being able to have an intellectual conversation with someone, which is something that has allowed me to make friends and to prosper with them.

Learning keeps me fascinated and intrigued. My greatest love of learning comes from knowing that learning is not only about textbooks, but it's also about experience and opportunity. It keeps my curiosity blossoming and opens me to new situations with new people. Learning is about seeing what's in front of you. It is respecting and understanding the value of each situation present. It's taking the small nonsense things you do every day and acquiring a love for them because of what they have taught you. Without learning, things like culture, art, and perception would not be alive. There would never be room for improvement or success; goals would be unattainable.

I am proud to say that I love to learn and am proud of my ignorant middle school self that thought to learn was not fun, because I now see the knowledge in my classmates that did not love the normal textbook learning, compared to the learning they may receive through their own life experiences. Learning is about seeing your mistakes and correcting them. It's understanding my own ignorance, even when it seems false. Learning is what gives me a personality and allows me to be vibrant and alive.