I don't want to brag, but you asked for it, so here it is. Here's why I'm awesome. Here's the reason no one can bring me down unless I choose to let them do so. Here's my answer to several misconceptions about me that seem to be especially common these days.

I'm not a self-centered person. I write about myself because I don't think I have the right to write about anyone else, but I do so with the knowledge that people who choose to come to my site want to hear about me. It's a way to keep in touch with friends in other states and countries who do the same and a way to clarify misconceptions about myself and be open with people. I'm a very caring person that will love easily and forgive easily when befriended and I do not condescend or judge other people unless they give me strong reasons to do so (and they have to be pretty extreme reasons). I tend to look for the best in people and live a happier life for that reason.

My friends are awesome. Every single one of them is an intelligent person with a strong personality. Several of the people I looked up to as role models as a freshman have become close friends now and I'm proud to be associated with them. I don't pressure anyone and I know that the people who hang out with me do so because they like me and want to be with me. If you knew LK's life and passion, Lauren's loving spirit, Matt's inner revolutionary, DaSilva's tender wildness, Jaya's wit and laughter... the list goes on forever, and I mean no offense to people I haven't mentioned. But my friends are beautiful people who I love deeply and who make my world brighter.

And don't you dare get up on Harry for being nerdy. He's a little nerdy but he's the coolest nerd you'll ever find and is loved by everyone who meets him. He's loyal and laid-back extremely attractive. He's intellectual and understands the very cutting edge of graphic art. He loves to think and does it well. He's also an amazing artist in his own right and a lighthearted, fun-loving guy with a great sense of humor that's not like anyone else's (except maybe his little brother's). He can make anyone laugh. He's extremely sincere. He's one of the only men I know that is not sexist and doesn't mind dating someone younger than him. He's not out to prove his masculinity and is still much more of a man than his violent counterparts, and better built. He's one of those people that others are grateful to have known. He's an incredible person with a strong personality and on optimistic outlook and I love him insanely. (Sorry if I'm embarrassing you, H. I really love you.)

I am in no way dumb. I have an IQ of 150, I'm extremely well read and have extensive knowledge of several literary movements and six writing awards under my belt from Columbia University, the Columbia-Scholastic Press Association, and the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards Competition. My SAT's and standardized tests have been 99th percentile since I was in kindergarten. I have taken college-level classes and earned A's. I'm editor-in-chief of the school paper, which used to be a crap publication that came out once a year and under my editorship now prints every quarter. I control a flexible staff of 30 now and began with three. Fortunately, I'm at a school where a lot of people are smart and inspired, and I'm not a rariety here; but I'm not a rule, either.

I'm strong and proud and happy right now, and no amount of vague anonymous criticism can bring me down. You can play war all you want but in the end, I will win, because my confidence is not hormonal and will not fluctuate unless my character does so first; and I write with no bitterness inside of me and no hatred at all, while others seem to carry so much bitterness that it seeps out through their fingers. I will be the "maid who defies the quips of blazoning pens;" by attacking the stone wall of my integrity you will only highlight your own weakness. Non-constructive criticism is obviously not intended to better the world in any way and in the end will always be exposed as pathetic and self-centered.

So I'll say it again: what power men possess to annoy me I grant them only by a weak curiousity. No man can come near me but through my act. Mess with me and you're messing with a philosophy of pride and self-reliance. I'm smart enough not to say things I don't mean and I'm anything but weak.

The irony, of course, is that I feel stronger now than ever before now that I know my own ability to face criticism and be truly self-reliant. I hope that some day everyone I know will feel this same sense of freedom grounded in strenth and the happiness it entails.