I read a Forbes article some time ago that gave 10 simple tips on how to appear smarter than you actually are. One of those tips was to wear nerd glasses. When I read that I thought, "I can do that." So for several weeks, I searched for fake glasses. When I say fake, I do mean fake. I'm not talking about blue light glasses that you can buy on Amazon. I'm talking about glasses that have lenses that do nothing for your vision. Yep, that was my line of thinking.

Christmas rolled around and I still hadn't found a cheap pair of fake glasses. So, I asked my siblings if they would get me a pair. Not surprisingly, they all said an emphatic, "No!" But I persisted. While shopping for Christmas gifts with my little sister, I found them: the destined pair I'd been searching for. They were thick-rimmed with big lenses. I placed them on my face and BAM! I was instantly in love. So, I took a picture and sent it to my sibling group chat. "I want these," I said in the text, "They're only $10." Seeing that I wasn't budging and had just presented them with an incredibly cheap gift to buy, my siblings caved. On Christmas Eve, I unwrapped these beauties.

Now, you're probably thinking, "Why on earth were you so obsessed with fake glasses? Did you really want to appear smarter that badly?" My answer? Yes, yes I really did. I have strawberry-blonde hair that often looks more blonde than strawberry, given the lighting in the room or the natural light outside. Also, I have a very silly personality that can come across as ditsy, I figured that if I wore these glasses, maybe people would take me more seriously.

Cassidy Rich

I know now that my quest to "appear smart" was quite stupid. People would tell me that I should just take the glasses off because they could tell that they were fake. To be honest, I was a little insulted. But, I had to give it to them: my attempt to appear smart backfired. My personality shined through any ounce of "smartness" those glasses could've given me. Where are those glasses now? Sitting on my shelf, right where they belong.

Every now and then I take them off of the shelf and place them on my face. I look in the mirror and take a good, long look. To be honest, I think I look like a cartoon character in my glasses. But then I take them off again and place them back on the shelf. I learned that trying to "appear smart" doesn't help me actually be smart. Reading, writing, talking to all kinds of different people, listening to podcasts, watching documentaries, and just using common sense are some ways to actually be smart. It's a lesson I should've learned long ago, but hey, at least I've learned it now. If you actually want something in your life to change, set out to make that change. Don't try to be lazy about it and slap something on your face that makes you appear this way or that. Make it a heart change, not just an outer change.