Coppell Observer is a humorous weekly column about life as a teenager. Please be warned that any and all sass is due to the writers’ similar situation as teenagers (even though we feel so much older). You, the reader, should not take any of these words seriously. Seriously. If this article makes you laugh, leave a comment.

Do you ever wish you could go one single lunch period without your friends arguing about which class is harder or complaining about the A they just got on their math test?

Unfortunately, as the school year comes closer and closer to an end, competition only heats up and these annoyances become more common, with students racing for a higher GPA or trying to cram as many AP classes as possible into next year’s schedule. It can quickly become tiresome, especially for those of us who do better on the non-academic side of school.

Never fear—there are a few ways in which you can put your friends in their place and show them that you are much smarter than them, intimidating them so much that they eventually stop their plebeian antics. Read on for some tips on how you can sound smart by faking it until you make it:

First, take advantage of those Membean minutes that your teachers are constantly on your case about doing. They may seem like a waste of your time, but they can become a highly valuable weapon, as everyone knows the first step to sounding smart is filling your vocabulary with a bunch of big new words.

You did not have a bad day. You had a harrowing day, so harrowing that now you are in a state of chagrin. You are not mad at your boyfriend for flirting with Becky from third period—you are livid, and his betrayal has had a deleterious effect on your future.

The best part is that you do not even have to know what these words mean; eventually, your friends will stop trying to understand you that they will just assume you know what you are talking about.

After you have tackled sounding smart in social situations, now it is time to look smart in a classroom setting. While the teacher is giving a lecture, nod profusely and be super invested in what they are saying (even if you have no idea what they are talking about and cannot seem to get the lyrics from “Shake it Off” out of your head).

In order to make this act convincing, however, you will have to pull out the stops. This means taking notes. Ugh, I am sorry! But there is good news: these notes do not actually have to make sense, they just have to look good.

Now would be the time to pull out your bag of multicolored pens, and maybe a highlighter if you are feeling spontaneous. Do not forget to add a Venn Diagram or two—whatever you have to do to make your notes look “artsy”, enough so your classmates think you definitely know what you are doing. (Ha—joke’s on them!)  

There is one final thing you will have to do to appear smart: own those debates and class presentations. Many of our teachers at Coppell High School love to give us assignments where we are forced to speak in front of the class, and as traumatic as they are for some of us, there is no getting out of them.

But in my many of years of experience, I have found the key to acing these kinds of projects. You must talk fast, and by fast, I mean incomprehensibly fast. Your class debate may be about politics, but by all means, start babbling on about what you had for breakfast if you have to. Just do not stop talking.

Make sure to sound super passionate about your topic as well—your teacher and classmates will become so involved in the emotion you are conveying that they will ignore what you are actually saying. And that is good.

Hopefully these tips are helpful in improving your self-confidence and making you sound smarter in front of your friends. Just always remember these words and you will be good to go: fake it ‘till you make it.

Follow @anthony_SK2017