Mrs. Rice you are obnoxious and disliked, don’t you know?

So I am a very opinionated person…perhaps too opinionated. The problem with being opinionated is that you are often disliked. Well at least I am.

As many of you know (all six of you who actually read this blog) I am going to college right now. I love being in a classroom, sharing ideas, reading about interesting ideas. Learning about cultures and people who fill my head with so much knowledge I might have to have a bigger hat size at graduation.

But this summer for two classes now I am noticing an alarming trend, my classmates (well a good portion of them) do not like me. They tolerate me, they are polite but I will never be apart of the group. Tonight I went at it when a guy (who I do not think actually reads any of the material for class) said that Castro (yes the Cuba one) has done more for the world than any US politician.

Seriously, you really want to go there? Okay, my school friends Ashleigh and Trish actually nicknamed this guy Snookie in our Russian Politics class because he is an idiot. Well Snookie was the one fawning all over Castro. We were talking about the book Mountains Beyond Mountains- it is written about the incredible Dr. Paul Farmer who is literally saving the world's poor. And while I do appreciate all he is doing I have a problem with Dr. Farmer's high opinion of Cuba's medical standards because Dr. Farmer not only has a medical degree from Harvard but a PhD in anthropology from the school as well. While Dr. Farmer loves the fact that Cubans have what he describes as excellent medical care Dr. Farmer never comments on the brutal dictatorship that led to such amazing medical care. I personally have a problem with that.

Snookie however thinks that Castro is amazing. And I have a problem with that too. Not just the opinion, we're all allowed our opinion (hey my best friend is a Hokie and somehow we have an amazing relationship) but an opinion that is not based on fact. Of course when I said I would have a hard time giving up my freedoms for the sake of free medical care (and yes this is easy for me to say because I am in my nice cozy house with insurance cards for my kids in my wallet) the entire class looked at me like I was a crazy right wing nut.

Snookie said well better not to have freedom than be dead and then one of the giggly girls in my class said "Touché." And then when I commented that Dr. Farmer had no problem complaining about every other government he encountered except for Cuba another girl in the class said "Well they have their medical care in order."

I am happy for the Cubans that they have great medical care according to Dr. Farmer. It is easy to have great medical care when there is no malpractice insurance to pay for.

After this conversation, in which I also said "You didn't learn much from Russian Politics class did you?" (I know super awful, and not the high road Dudepa would be so disappointed) I realized that really none of my regular friends are in the class- and I never felt more alone. I had no backup or at least no one willing to provide backup. Big Papi thinks that people were excited about the "no freedom comment" thrown at me because they are jealous. Oh what? I just know that my life would be so much easier if I just toed the line. I am just not that kind of girl- and frankly we need more people willing to stick their necks out and share their opinions. That is how we make progress people by sharing and listening to ideas. In education especially, when does towing the line become effective? If everyone followed the opinions of everyone else we would be no better than the Cuban government.

Telling this story is not to get my point across about Cuba, make your own opinions. But why is it in almost every situation when I give an opinion I look like a bitch?

In one of my favorite musicals 1776 John Adams sings that he is obnoxious and disliked. Well Mr. Adams I am joining your club. The world needs people like me who are willing to say the things that other people are thinking. I need to get over my wanting to be the most popular girl in school; it just isn't ever going to happen. Instead I am going to stand up for my opinions because I like me obnoxious and all.

So to my classmates I stick my tongue and say "I'm rubber you're glue, and my GPA kicks your GPA's ass"