Nerdsday - Give Thanks

This was going to be my Nerdsday post for Thanksgiving, but I ended up not having access to the blog over the long weekend and then having to dig into customs and now it's like halfway to Christmas but I am posting it anyway. So there.
With this being the "Thanksgiving" post, I wanted to write about something for which I am thankful: being a nerd. Even more than just being a nerd, that nerdiness is seemingly coming into it's own and being viewed more with appreciation and less with derision.

I love being a nerd, I've pretty much always loved being a nerd. I was raised by interesting and crafty parents, so maybe it was inevitable. I watched Star Wars marathons with my dad during the holidays and spent hours crafting and going to thrift shops with my mom. Family vacations almost always involved a museum. Add to the fact that I can be incredible excitable; (my boyfriend refers to me as a human Muppet). So generally I was the one of the "weird kids". I was aware of that from a young age, and I did my best to own it. My parents always encouraged me to be myself and I eventually ended up with a group of a really good friends who all understood me and who all had their own fun idiosyncrasies. Luckily I was in accelerated programs and schools for most of my educational experience, so there were generally a lot of "weird kids" and I didn't have to deal with much in the way of bullying. Me being such a little smart ass may have been a deterrent.


Getting ready to trick or treat at age 20

While "nerd" is usually associated with people who like Star Wars or comic books who have no social skills and unfashionable clothing, I think everyone should have something they're a total nerd about. Everyone should have something in their lives about which they are passionate and interested and that sometimes fills them with slightly manic glee. Maybe that thing is G.I. Joe or Star Trek or Atari games, or maybe that thing is rock climbing or restoring vintage cars or volunteering. Maybe it can be all of those things. But if you don't have something, how is life interesting or fun or even worthwhile? How many fantastic relationships might you miss out on? I wouldn't know my boyfriend if we weren't nerds; we met on a Star Wars internet forum. I wouldn't know any of the fantastic girls I've met through Crown Town Handmade if I weren't such a sewing and crafts nerd and if they weren't all just as bad. It's okay to value being smart and creative, it's okay to like weird things, and it's definitely okay to look different. I am happy and proud to be a nerd and I hope all the nerds out there continue to be awesome and interesting and embrace their nerdiness with pride.