Every so often, I encounter criticism or good natured teasing from some of my friends, who find it enjoyable to poke fun at me for being a "wine snob." Granted, this has become far more infrequent over the past several years, but when I was a 21-year old fraternity president who preferred Chardonnay to Keystone Light, I was the epitome of an easy target for the barbs of many of my friends. 

My personality is such that I want to be educated and knowledgeable in everything I do, and this desire is made even more manifest when it comes to my passions. As a four-year old baseball fanatic, I memorized the uniform numbers, and nearly every relevant statistic for the Boston Red Sox starting lineup. I would wear my oversized Red Sox jersey everywhere, imagined Fenway Park existed both in my backyard and in our house, and would excitedly watch every game I was allowed to stay up for with my dad. I wanted to know as much about the Red Sox as I could, wanted to be the most knowledgeable Red Sox fan, and wanted to eventually make it to the major leagues and play for the Red Sox. When it came to school, I was no different. My parents taught me from an early age that my studies were important, and I applied myself accordingly. I'm fairly confident that I'm one of the only first graders in history who cried on the bus because I received a "check," as opposed to a "check plus" on a math test, and then went home and hid the test in my sock drawer.