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English 101
Professor Alicia Bolton
October 27, 2013
Trying Not to Try Hard
The final words of Grant Penrod's argumentative essay are the words of this poem:
My loud and bitter screams aren't being heard
No one is there to hear them or to care
They do not come cuz i'm a nerd
Dealing with this pain is a lot to bear. (qtd. in Penrod 757)
Grant Penrod argues in Anti-Intellectualism: Why We Hate the Smart Kids that
intellectualism has become a taboo characteristic. As a student at Arizona State, he uses the
example of the schools championship wins. The Science Bowl Team, the Speech and Debate
Team, the Academic Decathlon Team, and the Football team all won the National
Championships for their categories that year, but only the latter seemed to go recognized. Little
importance is put on the intellectuals. His argument intensifies when he cites several instances
where the disdain for said "smart kids" becomes violent. Not only is the role of "nerd"
undesirable, but apparently, it has become hated. It has become something we need to extinguish.
He uses examples such as Christina Aguilera, Sammy Sosa, and President Barrack Obama to
show that education and value in society are not correlated. In fact, it seems that education is
looked down upon. As a self-proclaimed "intellectual," I agree with Penrod's argument that
intellectualism is despised because education does not always result in success and animosity is
geared towards high achievers.

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It is true that education does not directly correspond to wealth and success. For example,
Penrod lists several prominent figures in today's society that have become wildly successful but
displayed below-average intelligence. Penrod states, "just the existence of such amazingly
affluent yet strikingly uneducated individuals would seem to call into question the necessity and
even legitimacy of intellectualism" (756). In a beautifully descriptive way, Penrod is simply
asking: Why be smart? Our most influential figure, the leader of our nation, prides himself on
being a "C' student. This declaration is telling the youth of our generation that working hard is
not a necessary factor of success. This damages our nation. We are told to strive for "average."
We are told that any higher would be wasted effort. We have become a generation that accepts
mediocrity. The people that strive to break this mold are labeled derogatory names such as:
nerds, geeks, and losers. So why excel? Why excel when noted college drop-out, Bill Gates,
richest man in the world, was able to acquire more money than many third-world countries have
in their entire existence? Princess Diana dropped out of school at the age of 16. John D.
Rockefeller dropped out of school at age 17. Walt Disney dropped out of school at age 16.
Charles Dickens dropped out of school at age 12. Benjamin Franklin dropped out of school at
age 10. The list goes on and on. These famous public figures display the amount of importance
our society puts on education. Education does not always correspond with success. As a high
school senior, I am anticipating college. College is time-consuming, rigorous, and expensive.
The above public figures make me (and possibly all other high school seniors) question the
necessity of higher education. Through media (which mostly effects the teenage population) we
are taught as a generation this higher level education is not important. We see time and time
again where people we look up to-music artists, actresses, and even princesses do "just fine"
without going to college. We even see that these people are more successful than the college

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graduates in our own lives (parents, neighbors, siblings.) Penrod, however, eases our conscious
by saying "this supposed negative correlation between brains and buying power doesn't even
exist" (756). Penrod chooses to go against the idea that bombards us every day and state that
education, is in fact, important. Even though there is a slight chance of becoming successful
without education, I know there is a much greater chance of becoming successful with it. I, too,
choose to believe in the importance of education, even though I agree with Penrod's argument
that success and intellectualism do not always go hand-in-hand.
I also agree with Penrod's argument that a cloud of animosity surrounds the intellectuals
of the world. Penrod argues that there is "outright disdain for the educated harbored by much of
society" (754). He is saying that we live in a society that looks down upon the smart people. He
cites several online blog posts that demonstrate this hatred, but honestly, all we have to do to see
this proclamation in action is walk into any high school lunch room. The intellectuals will most
likely be segregated from the rest of the students. We will be able to pick them out of the crowd
because they will be wearing an invisible label that makes them unapproachable. In movies
advertised toward children, where does the bully get his lunch money? The nerd. In movies
advertised toward teenagers, who never has a prom date? The geek. We are taught at an early
age that popularity and intellectualism do not exist in the same person. We are taught to choose.
If we want friends, invites, and inclusions, we need to stifle our answers in class and pretend we
do poorly on tests. After all, in movies advertised towards adults, the "dumb hooker" always
gets the "good-looking millionaire."
I have experienced this animosity on a personal level. This year, my senior year, I
transferred high schools. Because it is my last year of high school, I made the decision over the
summer to just try and blend in. As a new student, I did not want to make any waves. I was not

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going to participate in senior events nor would I exhibit any school spirit. I was perfectly okay
with no one knowing my name. My plan was working fine until the last day of September.
Every student in the entire school received a transcript on this day. The red sheet was placed on
my desk. Slowly, I looked down at my class rank where I horrifyingly read 1 out of 156. It was
senior year, and I pushed every student down a rank. Quickly folding the transcript, I walked out
of the school and into my car. "So I made everyone hate me today," I said to my mom into the
phone. I have worked extremely hard my entire high school career, my rank is deserved, but
along with that number one position, I know I will also carry hatred from an entire senior class.
"You know that no one likes you" was an actual statement that was said to me the following
Monday by a fellow student. Animosity toward intellectualism is very real. I agree with
Penrod's argument because I feel its effects every day I walk through the doors of High School.
Try-hard. This is a new word that has come into our generation. It is a variation on the
nickname "nerd." The first time I was called this, I was in fourth grade. I was on the playground,
and my eyes filled with tears. Why would people be mean to me just because I make good
grades? Why would someone want to hurt my feelings? "Try-hard" continues to follow me. My
opinion about the supposed derogatory name has changed however. I now wear the name
proudly...because guess what?....I DO TRY HARD. Grant Penrod makes a valid argument in his
essay that our society hates the intellectuals. He proves that we live in a generation where
intellectualism is not an ideal characteristic. He proves this through statements that show the
supposed non-existent correlation between success and education and through the outspoken
animosity towards the "nerds." That day in fourth grade, I let a boy with a blue shirt hurt my
feelings. I let a boy in a blue shirt with a lower grade than me make me feel bad about myself.
Today, society is that boy in a blue shirt. So, although the road will be rough, and the animosity

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is anticipated, I will continue to "try-hard" because like I said, the boy in the blue shirt made a
lower grade than I did.

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Works Cited
Penrod, Grant. "Anti-Intellectualism: Why We Hate The Smart Kids." The Norton Field Guide to
Writing with Readings and Handbook. 3rd ed. Ed. Richard Bullock, Maureen Daly
Goggin, and Francine Weinberg. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2013. 754-757.
Print.