Outliers Prompt 1

Scott Pero
AP English Language—Mr. George
May 25, 2010
Outliers Prompt 1

I have always been an intellectually inclined student. As far back as I can remember, I was always the student who loved being a student. I think part of that was because of my inherent intelligence. I value humility, so it’s really weird boasting my intelligence; I do not like to do it often. Even so, I always earned decent grades, but that was because school naturally came easy to me. After reading Outliers, I am guessing my IQ contributed significantly to that fact. I have an IQ of 134, which, apparently, is enough to finish a graduate program. Also, though, now that I think about it, there were other factors that acted in an inverse manner to push me more toward academic success.

Whether genetically, or simply because I was too lazy as a child, I was always a big kid. I tried sports, but I just was not as good at them as other kids were, partly because I could not keep up with them. A perfect example is soccer. I played for six years as a kid, but I got bigger and just stopped playing. I love soccer and wish I could play it, but I physically do not think I’m capable. So, rather than apply myself to sports, I turned to academics and books. Because my physical self was not up to par, it made my intellectual self all the more prominent.

I have benefited from AP English because, I believe, it has helped me figure out my path in life. Up until this year, I wanted to be a veterinarian. I only took Honors English Classes because English was fun and in all honestly, I liked being in Honors rather than College Prep. It wasn’t until AP that I thought of turned my love of English into a career. It also helped me prepare for college, in a way. In theory, AP English was a college level course. If I could endure it, I could endure college. I think I have done well this year, and that makes me think I’m ready for college, thanks to AP.