The Sparkly and The Pretty

People like to assume that I'm stupid.

Heck, why not? Among my favorite things I can list cupcakes, glitter, Hello Kitty, and the color pink. I think it's funny as hell when I see someone fall down. I mean, I feel bad for them, obviously, but I still laugh. Since I'm being honest here, I'll admit that I usually laugh like an idiot when I fall down too! I like to watch music videos. Makeup makes me happy. I don't get into politics and try to avoid watching the news if at all possible.

There's a columnist for our local newspaper here who keeps a blog that I love. She posts about places she visits and fun things she finds to eat, do, and buy around the Valley. She has a lighthearted style and I've learned so many wonderful things on her blog. If you were reading my blog last fall/winter, you probably remember me referring to Jaimee Rose on more than one occasion. I used to read her weekly column in the Your Essential Style insert that came out on Thursdays when I was in college and now, I read her blog. I even met her once when I was working at the now defunct (HAHA) Recollections in Scottsdale.

What I'm saying is, I'm a fan.

The world and people being what they are, of course, not everyone is. I got a little note on my Facebook wall yesterday asking me if I had seen Jaimee's post that day from a sorority sister who is also a reader. Since I had just gotten up, I had yet to see it so I clicked on over, but the comment in question was already gone. I asked my friend what it had said, and the gist of it was that the commenter called Jaimee an idiot, a terrible reporter, and compared her to a Kardashian. Unfortunately, I've seen these sorts of comments on her blog before. I don't know how she handles it, but I guess it comes with the territory. Still, it's a reminder that people can be just so mean when under the comfortable blanket of Internet anonymity. It also seems a bit ridiculous because if you think about it, a lifestyle reporter who goes on about politics or the state of the world is probably in the wrong line of business, you know?

I found myself with this incident popping into my thoughts off and on all day yesterday, and finally realized that it probably had a lot to do with me being able to identify with the situation. I like pretty things, I talk about lighthearted subjects, I don't have ambitions to be a scientist or an engineer, ergo, I must be an idiot too.

I remember coming to the realization that my best friend's mother felt that way about me when we were in high school. I also remember how mad she was when I scored one point higher overall than her daughter did on my ACT, and how she made my friend take it THREE MORE TIMES in an attempt to get her to beat my score, which by the way? Never happened. Her daughter was the class valedictorian. She took all honors and AP classes. She was going to be a biochemical engineer! Me? I wanted to teach kindergarten and liked (still do!) to watch Speedy Gonzales cartoons.

Well, guess what world? It is possible to be smart and like what some consider to be frivolities. My IQ is a respectable 135, and while that won't get me into Mensa, that's nothing at which to shake a stick. I left college with a 3.6 gpa and that was AFTER failing an entire semester due to a nervous breakdown. Since I was only halfway through, that means it was entirely possible for me to still graduate with honors. I scored in the 99th percentile of the language portion on my ACT in high school, and my vocabulary is indeed quite large. My grammar and spelling are decent as well.

You know what I don't have? The pompous ass attitude that some people feel they need to adopt when they think that they're smart. I don't have anything to prove. I am just me, and for the most part, I'm okay with that. I like that I bring the sparkly AND the pretty. I like being a stay at home mom. I like making crafts, I like wearing pink, and I like chick lit.

Oh, and I like Jaimee Rose. I think she's a pretty smart cookie.