I believe that I spent my childhood like most other children. I just wanted to fit in.
I did everything I could to be like those around me, even if it meant compromising my personality to do so. I stayed quiet, lost in the background where no one could find me. I dressed like everyone dressed; watched what everyone watched; talked like everyone talked.
I played sports that my friends played even though I hated them. I went shopping with my girlfriends, talked on the phone for hours, and fawned over cute boys until I couldn’t take it anymore. I wanted to scream it from the mountaintops for everyone to hear. I wanted them to know and like me for who I really was, not for who I was pretending to be. I was scared, though, as any teenager would be and it wouldn’t be until college when I could finally embrace who I really was inside. At that moment when I finally met others who, like me, had been hiding their true identity for too long, we came together and screamed as loud as we could.
I don’t want to play sports or go to the mall. Dammit, I want to read books and watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer! I want to engulf myself in the fantasy worlds of Middle-Earth and Westeros and fall in love with the Winchesters, not the Hiltons or the Kardashians! I want to be jealous of the die-hards who dress up as Harry Potter for the release, not snicker behind their backs.
I want to be proud that I’m smart. No more will I hide my straight A’s and speak like an imbecile! When did it become ‘cool’ to dumb yourself down? We must stop this sick and twisted trend! It took me twenty years to embrace my nerdom; twenty years to shed the skin of who I had been pretending to be my whole life.
This is me … the real me.
Are you hiding the real you? Stop it. Don’t let anyone force you to be something you’re not. You’ll only regret the time you wasted pretending to be someone else. Always let your true colors show. Will some people not like it? Will some people make fun of you for it? Perhaps. You have to learn to not care. You have to learn to let those people go. They don’t deserve to be in your life if they can’t accept the real you. Embrace your inner _______, whatever it may be.
Scream it from the mountaintops. I want to hear your roar.
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Arden Ruth 
You’re definitely an intellectual badass!!
Why thank you, my dear 🙂
I just saw a picture today that said:
“Dear Cool People,
They didn’t name a candy after you, did they?”
Sincerely,
Nerds
🙂
Sooo…..I hafta ask….Star Wars or Star Trek?
Man, that’s a tough one … I’m actually a newbie to both but I’ll have to go with Star Wars. I’ve only seen the new Star Trek movies but I love them!!
I like them both, but I’m a Star Wars nut, so good answer. I haven’t seen the new Star Trek movie, but it’s on my to-do list.
I like them both too. It was a tough decision. The new Star Trek movie is AWESOME. See it in IMAX if you can!
Hmmm….I don’t know if I want to drive that far to see it. But I will be seeing it.
Yes!!! Embrace your nerdiness!!! Nerds are awesome!!
Haha — Love it 🙂
Me too! For years I thought there was something seriously wrong with me because I hated hanging out at the mall and doing pretty much anything in a group of people. All I wanted to do was curl up on the couch and read A Wrinkle in Time and anything by Judy Blume for the millionth time. I hid it until I graduated from college and moved to New York when I finally decided it was time for me to be myself. Then I married a marvel comic loving, Captain America shield owning, Star Wars worshipping man, and we shout our nerd-dom from the rooftop together.
LOVE THIS! I too found my nerdy better half but he has yet to fully come out about it. I still get evil glares if I call him a nerd even though he calls me one all the time while simultaneously re-watching Game of Thrones for the umpteenth time …. He’ll get there
This is great. I really like the way you structured this post.
P.S. I heart nerds.
Thanks for reading! I heart nerds as well 🙂
Good post, nerd. I was never a closet nerd, because I had no choice, I was an outed nerd. I have always been a one or two friend type and most of the time don’t even want to hang out with them. I was bitter for a long time and hid it, but now I am out and proud. Thanks WordPress!
Yes, thank you WordPress for allowing Ben to spew bitterness all over the world!!
hate the mall. love sitting with a bowl of ice cream with my head lost in a book from the time i learned to read till forever. and yeah, i love star trek and star wars. ROAR!
Yes!! I hate the mall. Love to shop but hate the mall. That’s what the internet is for. My reading usually involves wine as well as ice cream. I highly recommend it 🙂
Thanks for reading!
oh i’m with you on both. just a dangerous combination.
From one nerd to another – you are my hero. Peace, love and prosper.
Haha! I may have to steal it and make a badge out of it. For nerds use only 🙂
Cool, as long as I get a matching one!
Of course!! 🙂
Intellectual bad asses rock!
Yes they do, good sir!!
I’ve always told my son that there’s nothing wrong with being a nerd because it’s the nerds that rule when we hit the adult world. The other day on the way to school he repeated it back to me and I smiled and sighed because he really had been listening.
That. Is. Amazing. I hope I can teach my kids the same thing when I have them. Your kid shall forever be awesome!
I’m a geek. Luckily, Kellie likes geeks.
What’s not to love!?!
RAWR! I will admit I still struggle with showing the real me. I get stuck when an older person says something offensive. My dad is from the South and my mom’s side is British, so we are uber-boober polite. So I can’t talk back to my elders … but I want to stand up for myself? I wrestle with that one. But people my age, I have no problem telling them when they’re out of line! xoxox ps – LOVE that you have the Wino Dino and Litasaurus! xoxoxoxoxox
Yes! I finally had to steal them 🙂 I am most certainly a Wino Dino as well as a Litasaurus but I must admit that I read a crap book every once in awhile. Sometimes, you just have to see what all the fuss is about….
I usually regret it.
Hey, you’re telling this to the woman who just read Dolly Parton … And enjoyed it! No judgement here, my friend. Xo
Brilliant post! I would rather read than do…well…just about anything! Late in my pregnancy, when I was practically sedentary, I hoisted myself onto the couch and read and read and read. It felt like a vacation.
I’m the same way! My friends get so mad if we go to the pool or the beach over the summer because I just stick my nose in a book the entire time!
Thanks for reading! … Trying to get all my work done so I can head over to yeah write and catch up!
Not only was I miserable faking interest in popular things, I was quite a terrible fake. I was a nerd, through and through. I’m no longer afraid to say, “I don’t watch that” or “I don’t like doing that.” Life’s too short!
I was the same … I used to torture myself watching shows that I hated just so I could keep up with my girlfriends at the lunch table. NO MORE!!
Amen, sister! Geeky guys (and girls) are the best kind. Ugh, I spent my first year of prep school (on scholarship) trying to fit in, buying the right clothes and such. I was miserable!
I have had so many people comment with similar stories. It makes me feel better that I wasn’t the only one!
You are not alone, sister! And I’m totally stealing “intellectual badass!” Brilliant!
That’s good to know and steal away!! Haha
the REAL question is…which Winchester? I have to go Dean, though Sam is lovely as well. NERD ALERT!
Oh Dean, for sure! I love Sam as well but there is something about Dean that is just yummy 🙂
Excellent job by you. Cheers to all the intellectual bad-asses out there! I’m not one of y’all, but I’m totally okay with it and I think that was the whole point : ) Awesome!
Exactly!! Be whatever or whoever you are, as long as it’s the real you 🙂
Thanks for reading!!
NERDS FOR LIFE! 😀 Took me about the same time to release my inner nerd too, and now that I have, I couldn’t be freaking happier! And if anyone questions it, I think I will change my roar to a Fus Roh Dah hehe 😉
Me too! Best outing experience I could have had 🙂 Thanks for reading!!
No worries lovely, thanks for stopping by my blog too! ^_^