Once a nerd...

When browsing through my documents folder the other day I came across some of my college essays. I read through a few of them, expecting to cringe at my past writing. Surprisingly, one of them I still rather liked. I even chuckled a little. So, I present to you: a college essay.

Prompt: Explain a belief you accepted at some time in your life but have rejected on the basis of a rational process. (it goes on, but this is the gist of it)

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An important part of growing up is losing one’s baby teeth in preparation for growing permanent adult teeth. We all know the drill - you lose your baby tooth, put it under your pillow, the tooth fairy comes, and you are one step closer to being grown up. However, there comes a time in every child’s life that the tooth fairy’s existence doesn’t seem so feasible anymore.

When I was about nine years old I was feeling especially old and grown up, and the whole tooth fairy idea didn’t seem so likely anymore. We had started to learn about the scientific method and researching topics in school, so I was beginning to reevaluate some of the ideas that I had taken for granted. It was time for me to figure out some things for myself.

One day at school, I lost one of my baby teeth, but instead of proudly displaying my necklace with the fake tooth enclosing my real tooth, I hid it in my backpack. At home that evening I didn’t tell my family that I had lost a tooth, and they didn’t notice my newly toothless state. Everything was going according to plan. I placed my tooth under my pillow before I went to sleep and waited for morning to arrive. If the tooth fairy were real, she would know that I had lost a tooth and there would be cold hard cash waiting for me in the morning. However, if there was no tooth fairy, all I would find under my pillow was the tooth I placed there.

The next morning I anxiously checked under my pillow. There it was – my tooth. My heart sank a little as one of my fantasies was ruined, but it was overwhelmed by my pride in disproving the story all by myself. I continued the same routine for several days without my parents ever noticing. Finally I announced that there was no tooth fairy and explained my little test. My parents looked a little chagrined at not noticing my missing tooth, and I ended up getting more money for that tooth than I ever had before. With my last few baby teeth, the “tooth fairy” was always very prompt and generous, even though I had discovered her true identity.

originally written spring 2004

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I know, I know, I'm a huge nerd. But for the record, I got in.