Oh, Amy Poehler. I love you. See, when Hello Giggles first came on the scene, I was so happy because now there is a female comedy site and it’s a good one. Then I discovered “Smart Girls At The Party” and I pretty much freaked out.

Smart Girls At The Party is Amy Poehler along with Meredith Walker and Amy Miles and it’s about being smart. It’s about how being smart and being you is okay—and it’s attractive, too. I wish I had this when I was growing up. I was always the girl that hated being told, “You’re so pretty” and I would always respond with “I’m really smart,” which I still do to this day.

I’ve been yelled at on more than one occasion that it’s rude not to say thank you when I’m paid a “you’re so pretty compliment,” but I’m not thankful to hear that I’m pretty. So what? I’m pretty. BFD.  Being pretty has its advantages, but it also has a lot of disadvantages, too. I’m not one to brag, but I have a very high IQ. I actually have an IQ that could gain me membership to a very prestigious club if I wanted to pay its membership fees. My brain is very important to me and it’s also overlooked in comparison to physical appearance, and that sucks.

No one cares if I’m smart. In fact, people are downright shocked that I’m smart. I’ve had several (former) friends say to me, “You’re so pretty that you don’t need to let everyone know you’re smart, too.” I’ve had ex-boyfriends say things like “Why do you want to watch this documentary, it’s so boring,” or you’re not fun” or “Why do you read books like that? You’re so weird.” For a long time, I believed that. I thought I had to dumb myself down in order to fit in and get a boyfriend and be popular, and I had to pretend that learning wasn’t fun but now? Well. Now I’m twenty-six and I say, “Screw that.”

My mind works in a very strange and interesting way. I’ve worked with experts that say my mind cannot grasp normal thoughts. To me, what is conventional to most is quite boring and sometimes confusing to me. Generally, I can’t understand why someone would act a certain way, or not be able to understand what I see as so simple. It’s made it very difficult to have long lasting friendships or relationships so I gave up understanding my brain and just became a pretty girl. Easy enough, right?

But like I said before, I’m twenty-six and I’ve finally come to appreciate and love how smart I am. Sometimes I’ll explain something to a friend, co-worker, or my boyfriend, and they’ll look at me with this “wow” face, and my chest swells with pride. I’m also in a relationship where I’m mentally stimulated and my partner is proud of my brain. He’ll often be in a conversation with someone and I’ll overhear him say “Yeah, and she could be a part of (insert name of group I could join but they have stupid membership fees and just because I’m smart doesn’t mean I have unlimited disposable income!)”. It’s finally become about a sense of pride.

That’s where Smart Girls At The Party comes in—they’re smart, they’re successful, they’re pretty, and they have fun. They appreciate who they are. It’s made it okay to be smart and I couldn’t be more excited to be seeing this kind of movement come forward.  Now girls today following this movement won’t have to wait until they’re twenties to get it. Get them while they’re young!

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