The last nerd standing

In high school, I dated athletes. In college I realized that although the athletes I dated were hot, their brain power was lacking. And though I never made a conscious effort to stop dating athletes, all of a sudden I was dating nerds. Now, don't get me wrong...nerds are hot!!! I'd rather a man with brains than a man with a killer body and nothing in his head (I'd actually rather a nerd with a killer body and an amazing personality, but I digress).

But here's my questions: What do you do when you become the nerd?

I admit I'm ultra competitive in everything I do. And more than that, I am a perfectionist (we can thank my mom for that). It comes out in everything I do, from work to cooking to playing soccer. And currently, my school work....

I am currently taking a Nutrition class at Simmons College. I am taking the class for free through work and although the material is hard, I am thoroughly enjoying it. We had our midterm this past Monday and it was much harder than I expected. Between the midterm and class discussion, I lamented to my professor how much harder the exam was than I expected. Her response was, "Well, I said before that grades truly fall on a bell curve". My response to her was, "Well, I want to be on the top of the bell curve" (I really meant I wanted to have the highest grade in the class which would have meant the far right side of the bell curve but you get what I mean). Her response was, "Marcy, you are a perfectionist." To which I replied, "I know." She then told me that that was what got her through her PHD.

Fast forward to Wednesday: She puts the grade breakdown on the board and starts to hand back the exams. Only four people scored in the 90-100 range.

What did I get??? A 96%!!!!

After class my teacher told me she was never worried about my grade. A feeling of content washed over me. Have I found my calling?? Am I really a science geek in athlete's clothing?

Can an athlete be a nerd or a nerd be an athlete? Can I be successful at being both?

For now, this athletic nerd is going to glow in her 96...that is until she takes the final next Wednesday.