My favorite author, Alexandra Robbins' new book The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth got me thinking.

I was that girl in high school, the freshman sitting with the seniors, the homecoming and prom court popular cheerleader. I was famous in a small town — for acting.

You see, I was never really the cool girl I pretended to be. I have spent my whole life a closet geek, trapped in the class clown/cheerleader body.

I would win an award for some state academic competition, then maintain my cool, non-geek status by cutting the power in the cafeteria and starting a food fight. I spent so much of my energy masking my geeky tendencies trying to stay popular, I lost sight of what really made me cool ... being myself.

Put a geek in a cheerleading uniform and she's just a geek in a short skirt. Well, I’m tired of hiding. I am letting my geek flag fly.

For starters, I have an electronic dictionary-thesarus on my nightstand to define any words I come across in my books that I don’t know. I. Am. A. Geek. There, I am out of the closet.

Alexandra Robbin's "Quirk Theory" mentioned with the book The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth states that many of the differences that cause a student to be excluded in school are the same traits or real-world skills that others will value, love, respect, or find compelling about that person in adult-hood.

Had I embraced my true quirky, nonconformist self in high school, rather than changing who I was to appeal to others and confirm to society's standards, I'd be a lot more successful and happier now. And bad habits die hard because I still find myself doing that shit.

But why was I really popular?

It wasn't because I was "cool" — it was because I was nice to everyone. I fit in with every clique. I didn't have to change myself to do that either. I just accepted everyone for who they were. The "in crowd," the art freaks, the skaters, the thugs, and especially the geeks. In fact, I even had a secret fetish for them, even in high school.

"Timmy" (name changed to protect the innocent) was hands down the biggest underclassman dork in school. One day he somehow managed to knock over the entire stack of returned dirty trays in the cafeteria, making a sound so loud it demanded the entire cafeteria's attention. Everyone was startled, and then when they saw him standing there covered in people's dirty food with trays spattered all about, everyone started laughing at him. I got up from the cool, senior table, and started helping him pick up the trays, and his dignity. I shot out a look that said bully him and I will bully you, and people shut up. It was at that moment that I realized the power of popularity and wondered why people don't use it for good in exchange for the special treatment. I also thought that high SAT scores and love of the arts are sexy, and found myself developing a little crush on the baby-faced, trombone-case carrying, tube sock wearing geek. So I decided to seduce him.

Men are like dogs.

No, no, I'm not saying men are dogs — just like them in the sense that they have to be trained. He's not like a puppy you have to house break because he knows how to hold his dick. And I'm sure he's not looking for a pissing contest (so don't give him one). But you do have to train him as to how he can treat you.

Just like a dog owner will train his puppy not to piss all over the carpet, you have to train a man not to piss all over you. Because if you let him treat you like you're a dog, he will.

Cesar Millan wrote in his dog training bibles that "there are no bad dogs, just bad owners." Just like there aren't bad children, just bad parents. Well, perhaps there aren't bad boyfriends, just bad girlfriends. Because why are you his girlfriend if he's bad? Men are even far more expendable than dogs.

Let's say for example, if he's used to living alone, he may be a little particular about you being around all the time. You don't want to piss all over his place to mark your territory. But you need to lay down your ground rules of what you will and will not accept in terms of how he welcomes you in his life.

Why is he a straying dog burying bones in someone else's yard? I hate to say it, but it could be because you let him get away with it. Granted, some men are just dogs. But most of them aren't, and they're looking for a loving home. Men need to be nurtured, like a puppy ... and fed like one, too.

Just like some dogs are difficult to tame, you can train a wild one to settle down. But you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Some guys just have bad role models for how to treat a woman ... it's not your fault, unless you put up with it.

Just like it's not my adult dog's fault he yanked his leash out of my grip and charged at another dog, only to end up getting bitten. It's my fault for letting him get away with everything when he was a puppy. He wasn't a bad dog, I was a bad owner. And I have comes to terms with the fact that my cheating ex-boyfriend wasn't the only bad one in our relationship. I let him get away with everything, leaving me with nothing ... except a big vet bill from my dog's surgery.