As a kid you don’t realize you’re being
who you are, you just are. Until you
become a teenager and you become
self-conscious of who you are.
I ended up seeing Phantom Menace, I think I
saw it nine times in theatres after it came
out. Which I think is probably the
nerdiest thing I've ever done but I
loved it and I wouldn’t have changed a thing about that.
We used to play Magic: The
Gathering in—it was, the back room of the library.
It was this dark little room and I would
play with these older kids and, at
the time, I thought they were really
cool. I totally looked up to those guys.
I remember being in high school and I came
up with this term:
I started calling myself a GERD, which is half geek/half nerd.
I remember when Playstation
first came out, they had Final Fantasy VII, which
I remember so specifically because it
because it blew my mind: the music,
how epic it was...—changed my world.
I played that game for hundreds of hours.
I showed up at the bar and put my Elder
Wand at the table and the bartender came
up and saw my wand, and was like:
“Is that the Elder Wand?” I was
super embarrassed, thinking this guy
must think I’m crazy. And then
he lifts his sleeve and shows me
that he has the Deathly Hallows tattoo.
And I was like: “Okay...it’s not...
I shouldn’t be embarrassed."
I think as I’ve gotten older, I’ve felt
less and less pressure to conform.
But not everyone is that lucky.
I think as we grow older and approach adulthood we stop
looking so much outward and “what are my
peers going to think of me?” And we start
to look more inward and hone in and embrace
what we really love.
It’s been really neat seeing all these
traditionally nerdy things that I’ve
always loved gradually becoming more and more
mainstream. Because it’s now gone from
the things I can only talk
about with my nerdiest friends, to now
the thing where I can talk to my Dad
about Iron Man now—that certainly wouldn’t
have happened when I was in high school.
Young people today are able to express
themselves in a myriad of ways and
what’s considered “cool” is not so narrow anymore.
Computers, games, books, nature,
technology, math, science— all of those
things were considered nerdy
before because we had old
stereotypes of: “Smart things are for nerds!”
Whereas now, everything in that
realm is becoming
mainstream because it’s important not to be stupid.
I would describe the Nerdfighter culture as very
supportive and curious group.
Confident, kind, constantly learning...
Pushing for love of each other, respect, and an
appreciation for education and knowledge.
A community where you can pose questions
about complex issues. Opening your mind
and not judging others is
very integral to the Nerdfighter culture.
To me, DFTBA means doing things with
your best foot forward, and with heart.
It’s a little reminder that there is a
community that appreciates critical
thinking and individuality.
We’ve all got awesome inside of us, and
if we’re all sharing our awesomeness, then
it’s going to be a real awesome world around us.
My name is Adam, my name is James, my name
is Julia—Kelsey, Nick, Nikkie
Suzanna, Tyler, Vivian
And I am a Nerdfighter.