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Education Quote by Nicole Polizzi

"I went to school, I went to college. I know how to read. Even though I lack common sense sometimes, I am book smart"

About this Quote

Nicole Polizzi’s charm here is that she grabs the insult before anyone else can throw it. “I know how to read” is almost comically bare-minimum, the kind of defense you offer when you know the room has already decided you’re a cartoon. She’s talking to the shadow audience that reality TV created around her: viewers who treat a persona like Snooki as proof of stupidity, not a performance built for cameras, editing, and meme-ability. The line works because it’s both a rebuttal and a concession, a tight little two-step that keeps her likable.

The key move is the split between “common sense” and “book smart,” a hierarchy Americans love to argue about because it doubles as a class tell. “Book smart” signals credentials and basic competence; “common sense” is the folksy, masculine-coded virtue that lets people dismiss educated women as impractical or clueless. Polizzi flips that trap into a controlled confession: yes, she can be ridiculous, and yes, she’s still legitimately capable.

Context matters: early 2010s reality stardom came with a constant undertone of contempt. Polizzi’s public identity was built on excess and comedic chaos, but the business side of that fame required precision. This quote is brand management dressed as self-deprecation. She’s insisting on a fuller humanity without breaking the character that made her famous, a neat reminder that being “smart” on TV often means knowing exactly how you’re being read.

Quote Details

TopicKnowledge
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Citation Formats

APA Style (7th ed.)
Polizzi, Nicole. (2026, January 18). I went to school, I went to college. I know how to read. Even though I lack common sense sometimes, I am book smart. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-went-to-school-i-went-to-college-i-know-how-to-20792/

Chicago Style
Polizzi, Nicole. "I went to school, I went to college. I know how to read. Even though I lack common sense sometimes, I am book smart." FixQuotes. January 18, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-went-to-school-i-went-to-college-i-know-how-to-20792/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I went to school, I went to college. I know how to read. Even though I lack common sense sometimes, I am book smart." FixQuotes, 18 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-went-to-school-i-went-to-college-i-know-how-to-20792/. Accessed 6 Feb. 2026.

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I went to school, I know how to read - Nicole Polizzi
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About the Author

Nicole Polizzi

Nicole Polizzi (born November 23, 1987) is a Celebrity from USA.

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