Things That Don't Stay the Same

Remember back in high school, when being really smart likely meant you'd be made fun of for one thing or another? It was "cool" to be smart, and quite neat to be off-the-charts smart (it begged curiosity and awe) but really smart? Not so much. I remember a classmate and casual friend of mine scored a 32 on the ACT. A 32 (no, this wasn't me; you can't score a 32 when you get an 18 in the math section), and she hid it from everyone because she knew when people found out, in some way or another, people (likely out of jealousy or fear) would rag her about it.

Whew! Thank goodness adulthood is nothing like that. Then again, a friend of mine just told me he got a 740 on the GMAT (98% percentile for those of you keeping score at home), prompting me to call him a jackass and hit him on the shoulder. That, however, was done in awe and respect; like a I-won't-score-that-high-way-to-go-kid type of thing.

Anyway, my only point being, I am glad I am an adult, and no matter how well (or not-so-well) I do on the GMAT:

1. Not everyone I know will get their results from the SAME test on the SAME day making it the topic of non-stop conversation for 48 hours, and
2. I won't get made fun of, good, bad, in between.

So, I think I will shoot for the proverbial moon of 700 (why not 800? I'm a realist, people) because if I miss I will land among the...uh-oh. Not the stars, not even space junk. As my friend Dan (he's one of those creepy smart people) pointed out, if you shoot for the moon and miss, long before you are pummeled by space junk (as Patrick and I asserted) you will suffer hypothermia, oxygen deprivation and radiation burns.

I am just an hour away from taking this test...this was my warm-up essay.