The Prodigal Nerd

Let me tell you a little bit about a journey I’ve been on over the last couple of years…

I’ve been a nerd for a long time. I didn’t embrace it quite as early as some do, due to my aspirations of being a baseball player or a fighter pilot until I decided to dive into being a band geek in high school. But since 9^th or 10^th grade (1999-2000ish, if you’re interested) I’ve been comfortable in my identity as a nerd. During that span of time I’ve been into a variety of nerdy things.

I’ve had seasons of diving deep into comics, hyper-detailed online simulations, video games, books, internet happenings, and movies. I’ve grown and changed in my personal tastes, seen old things with new eyes, discovered new depths and angles to things I had seen a thousand times before but never noticed, and worked hard to keep up with what’s current as well as what’s on the horizon. And now, at 34, and with a wife and a 3-year old at home, I’ve learned something new about my nerddom…

Ain’t nobody got time for that…

Look, the reality is that being a nerd is all about celebrating and geeking out about the things that we love. It’s not about having to work hard to keep up. If it’s a struggle to keep up, then it’s not fun. And, quite frankly, there’s too much to keep up with anyways. We are living at peak nerd right now.

So what if I can’t see every Marvel or Star Wars movie on opening weekend? I love my wife and kid.

So what if I don’t know how Hydra Captain America turned out? I love my job.

So what if I don’t have a weekly D&D session? I love to fish.

The point I’m trying to make is this: I’ve learned that it’s okay to be a casual nerd. A prodigal nerd. It’s okay to miss out on stuff that I’m marginally interested in so that I can focus more on the stuff I’m really interested in. And it’s okay to have chunks of time where I’m pretty disconnected altogether. Because ultimately, what’s the point of being a nerd if it’s more work than fun?

That’s what my (hopefully) monthly contribution to NoE will be now, at least for this season in my life. I’m a casual nerd, so I’m going to write from that perspective, and hopefully give a voice to other people who are interested in nerdy things, but don’t feel like they have the bandwidth to go all-in. If that’s you, then welcome home!

You know, if you have time in your busy schedule and everything…