Unleash the Nerd Within

When I was in middle school and high school, I was regularly teased for being a nerd. Heck, I'd bet that most of us were teased as kids and even young adults, and taught that being a nerd or anything remotely related to one ("dweeb", "dork", "geek" etc) was a bad thing. It makes kids everywhere feel embarrassed and ashamed.

People who openly identify as nerds feel pretty differently about the title. To us, being a nerd means being single-mindedly focused, aggressively passionate about a specific subject or two, and being intelligent. Not exactly a bad identity to hold on to.

Maybe those 2 conflicting opinions explain why the top two definitions for nerd are:
1) "A foolish or contemptible person who lacks social skills or is boringly studious"
and
2) "An intelligent, single minded expert in a particular technical discipline or profession."

Today we change the order of the two definitions above.  Today, we redefine the term.  Today, the nerds of the world take control over our own destiny.

Let's show the world why people like these guys are incredible

Taking control of the word, and learning to be proud is very simple.  All you need to do is unleash the nerd within.  Let him or her out of the cage.  Read your favorite book, or go to your favorite comic shop, or re-watch your favorite movie.  Stop feeling embarrassed about your favorite nerdy hobby and start flaunting it.

Nerds are the luckiest people on Earth. They know what they like and have friends who share their interests. Nerds are more interested in why Bill Nye chooses a bow-tie than why Kim Kardashian is still famous.  Nerds ignore the antics of the 'Jersey Shore' cast, except to wonder about the long term consequences of so much skin tanning. We can all agree that's a good thing.

This meme popped up and all I could think was:  Wow, nerds made the right choice.

Unleash the nerd within.  Watch 'Firefly', instead of 'Honey-boo boo'. Read Tolkien, not Palin.  Study how the universe works, and learn every damned thing you can about every damned interesting subject you can get your hands on. Find what you love, and stick to it like a leech (of the family Hirunidea, because my own nerd-specialty is Biology).

When I was growing up I was embarrassed to be a nerd.  I played video games non-stop, but pretended I was interested in football.  I read books so obsessively, my parents had to take away my flashlights so I'd go to bed before midnight. But I grew up and out of that fear.  I let my nerd-hood carry me to a great college, double majors, and a minor.  My nerd-hood made me study seals and sea lions on a tropical island. Admitting and accepting my nerd-hood let me do incredible, fun, and exciting things. I sincerely hope that being a Nerd helps you to do the same.

Not to be cliche, but: Some men just want to watch the world learn.

Unleash the nerd within.  You'll be amazed how cool being uncool can be.