I’m a nerd. If you’re reading this blog, you’re probably like, “Duh?!” I’ve been a nerd my whole life, and as a grown woman, I really appreciate it now. So let’s do a checklist:
 |
| Amaya. AKA "Pink" |
1. 1. Glasses: Check. Since age eight; new ones every two to three years. I still wear them; I currently rock a lovely pair of pink Versaces. I refuse to get Lasik and rarely wear my contacts. My glasses have always been a part of me, same as my poor eyesight; so for me to try and streamline my appearance by not wearing them makes me feel like an imposter.
2. 2. Books: Check. I’ve been reading since I was two years out of the womb and I can’t imagine life without them. I always had a book in my hand and averaged one a day when I was in school. I read anything and everything because books are the cheapest vacation one can take. Even with the advent of eBooks, I still prefer my hardback novels.
3. 3. Superpower: Check. WORDS!!!! I’m an author; therefore I am a wordsmith and wordplay is what I do. I used to eviscerate my classroom opponents in language arts, and I entertained myself by writing and illustrating books. I used to read the dictionary (a good old beat to shit Webster’s) and encyclopedias (a good old beat to shit set of World Books circa 1970) for comfort. There was one year when all I wanted was a new dictionary and new encyclopedias for Christmas. I remember when a door-to-door salesman came to my house and tried to sell a gorgeous brand-new set of World Books to my mother. I fell in love with them on sight and I knew she wanted me to have them, but we couldn’t afford it.
4. 4. Awkwardness: Check. I was never truly comfortable in my own skin. When you’re young, you want to fit in. You want to feel less awkward. My particular academic gifts set me apart from my classmates and put me in situations I wasn’t socially prepared for. I wanted to be popular, but I never quite made it. I was always springing random bits of information on everybody, not because I wanted to feel smarter, but because I’d learned a new thing and wanted to share it. It didn’t endear me to many people. So I dumbed myself down—to an extent. I couldn’t bring home anything less than a B, and that was only in math.
5. 5. Fangirlism: Check. Science, science-fiction, fantasy, mythology, comic books, literature, any subject that took me away from my existence. Commander Spock from Star Trek and Bruce Lee were my first loves.
Now this isn’t by any means an exhaustive list of nerd traits, but you get the idea. I grew out of my awkwardness and into the bombshell that I am now (*wink*), but I still wear my glasses, books are the utter foundation of my existence, and I am a bona-fide fangirl. I stopped dumbing myself down in 10th grade when my mother took my library card from me because I made a C on my first trig test. Now for you young bucks out there, taking away my library card was akin to taking away the cell phone. I was distraught, but you best believe I got my grade up to standard by midterm and I never got my library privilege revoked again.
I love me. I am fearfully and wonderfully made; therefore I embrace my nerdiness. Who I am is no mistake. I was designed and destined to follow a different path: nerds are born and then they’re made. My little idiosyncrasies did nothing but shape me into the marvelous creature I am now and gave me the experience I need to guide other nerds like me to where they want to be. Back in the day, nerds used to get clowned. Now we are the new sexy. So to all my sistah nerds, unite! And let’s represent.
