I never thought I would find Molly at Stanford.
Within the electronic dance music of a frat party, I encountered several kids in a very active state, aggressively fist pumping the air and stomping the ground. After getting over the shock of seeing a common concert drug in a college party, I was hit with the sudden realization that I went to one of the smartest schools in the country.
In the modern day, “nerds” have evolved from the stereotypical collared, high-waisted shorts men and women— in fact, all around Stanford, you’d be lucky to find maybe four or five.
Today, nerds— in California, anyway— are suave, PacSun clad kids who have a passion for changing the world and an equally burning desire to let loose and have a good time. They, as I found out, aren’t shy of recreational drug use, and the California weather propagates the chill demeanors further.
Back at home in Illinois, the person I just described didn’t exist. Nerds were indeed those kids who studied all the time and sported the goofy glasses/greasy complexion look, and I personally couldn’t imagine ever observing the party culture I saw in the realm of popular kids within a group of the practical, more intellectual persona.
But the many crazy weekends at Stanford so far have given me some interesting sights to see, and I’ve been working on redefining how I view the rest of the intellectual community.
I think the most interesting aspect of the whole analysis, however, is that today’s nerd is working harder than ever before. Longer hours studying, a much larger course load from way too many units, and an intensified pressure to succeed in this fast-paced drive the modern nerd to expend enormous amounts of energy to their academic pursuits, and so it’s a wonder they have time for the partying they engage in.
However, the busyness could be a direct link to the partying, because the elevated stress levels could lead to more drastic methods to release that stress.
The modern nerd is an interesting one, closely embodying the high school kids in the "21 Jump Street." I think it’s fantastic because more and more people are learning the balance of avidly pursuing academic goals and having a good time. I think this makes for the development of a potential to a better life, where work doesn’t become so arduous because we’ll understand fully that it’s for bettering our lives and that having a good time is not far around the corner.
So I’m not sure what I’ll think about this weekend. Maybe I’ll see some more crazy stuff from crazy smart people, and that will be awesome. There’s a lot of potential for growth here, both away from the stereotype of what constitute a nerd and towards the potential for a good life. I know that what I’ve seen at Stanford could be an isolated observation, but the increased workloads and higher stress levels among intellectually motivated teens is universal, and so maybe the increased partying and release of stress is too.
