Putting the "Cool" in School

So we all knew those kids growing up that said they never studied, yet persisted to proudly display one big A+ after another. What gives?

I think one of life’s mysteries (among thousands, im aware) is the question of natural smarts. Do these said straight a students actually put real time into their grades?

For years I sat by Jim**(name changed, duh) who received the top grades in our class, yet touted that he spent half his night in front of the TV and the other half on his Wii/Xbox/Rockband/GuitarHero/Anything with a plug and a screen. I don’t get it? Was he really born with this inherent talent to waltz into class on test day and by reverse osmosis just know the right answer?

It just cant be! He had to have been going home and if nothing else, at least spending 20 min reviewing the days material. And, furthermore, if he did secretly study, why did he feel the need to lie and boast his lack of effort? We would have respected his ability to succeed whether he put the time in openly or in the dark.

Lord knows we all had to hit the books pretty hard to remain competitive.

The strange thing is, when I got to college, those i-didn’t-study-but-graduated-with-a-4.0-types oddly disappeared. And I’m pretty sure they went to a college. Everywhere you look, the top achieving students are the ones staying after to talk to the teacher, attending the review sessions and raising their hands in class. It just proves I was right all along (as if im never not..)

I wish someone could revert back to their 12 year old self and tell those snotty braggarts that not studying is well, not cool … but as for now I guess im satisfied knowing that their secret isn’t safe for long. I saw you at the library last night Jim.