Hug A Nerd Today

As a well documented nerd I can attest that the very factual scientific data states that 99.5% (more-or-less-ish) of humans who carry the nerd gene will remain young-at-heart, and retain a more-than-average child-like sense of wonder. 

And this is a beautiful thing.

They will also, however, feel largely rejected by proper society and "normal" people everywhere.

When my oldest daughter was tiny she was fascinated with Peter Pan and would cry whenever I'd talk to her about growing up. 

"I won't do it, Mommy!" she insisted. "I'm going to never grow up, just like a Lost Boy."

What my little tom-girl didn't realize was: we can't stump the physical aging process. We can, however, hold tight to the magical sense that childhood brings and never allow that spark to be snuffed out. We can have every line of Star Wars memorized, argue about the new Superman movie like it could change world events. We can love cheesy costumes and horrible dialogue. We can even trick-or-treat (yes, this might be creepy if you're fifty, but it's a free country—creep away!).

The thing about nerds is, we are caught in the between place, where we only feel like we fit in our own tribe. In the "Great Out There" we are marveled at, sneered at, laughed at. Coworkers steal the DC figurines off our desk and get the totally wrong idea when we call them a Browncoat over coffee in the break room. This is how massive herd-events like, DragonCon and San Diego ComiCon were born. We needed to congregate and find like-minded weirdos. Religious people understand this. Country club members understand this. Humans everywhere understand this. We don't want to feel alone.

So, if you're not a nerd but you know someone who is, take a beat to listen to them ramble about Doctor Who, and how bow ties can be cool again. Don't be scared if they whittle wooden stakes at their desk—someday, when that inevitable vampire virus hits, they could save your life! 

Sharing is caring. And I'm sure any nerd you know wouldn't mind letting you talk for a second or two about what happened in some uniformed sporty-thing that you like. I mean, it would only be for literally two seconds, because any longer than that and he/she would likely get lost in their own head, trying to figure out how to escape the temple in Darksiders 2 they got stuck in last night.

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Rachel A. Marks is the author of The Dark Cycle series, beginning with DARKNESS BRUTAL. You can read more about her weird hobbies and see some of her artwork on her webpage: www.RachelAnneMarks.com. You can also follow her on Twitter and Facebook.