Wait. Am I a Nerd?
The news that this humble blog has been nominated for a Bloggie Award for Best Weblog of the Year (have you voted? Go vote! (did ya see what I did right there? my marketing tactics are stealth-like)) has sparked some interesting discussions in my household. Namely one interesting discussion.
Am I a nerd?
I’ve never really thought much about it. I haven’t always been a nerd, but surely the act of being nominated for something with the word “Weblog” in the title is grounds for at least a giant step in that direction. In all honesty, Best Weblog of the Year might almost actually qualify me for Queen of the Nerds. Queen of Dorkdom. LORD OF THE LOSERS. …if you will. So this has made me ponder over the past several days.
When did I become a nerd?
I’m fairly certain I haven’t always been a dork. In high school I wasn’t in the popular crowd, but I wasn’t rocking a pocket protector either. Let’s take a closer look then at something I like to call THE EVOLUTION OF A NERD.
1998 – 2001, High School
In high school, I was fairly moderate in my social standings. I was actually voted Best All Around. Take THAT, Weblogs! BAM!
(FUN FACT: That guy who is in the picture with me is Rory. Those of you who have been hanging around these parts long enough will remember him as the houseguest we had a year or two ago who my neighbors think I had a one-night stand with. Yeah. That was awkward.)
AND I was one of the senior class beauties. That’s me in black on the far left. And that’s my high school crush, Neil Tucker, standing behind me. It was the closest I ever got to going to a high school dance with him. And it was 10:00 in the morning. (sigh…)
What could have been, Neil. What could have been…
I was also in the senior Hall of Fame. Although, since those students are picked by the teachers, that might technically have been the beginning of the end insofar as my status as a nerd goes…
P.S. Check out that flaming orange hair. You know you’re jealous.
2001-2005, The College Years
I went to undergrad at Florida State University, which, at the time, was one of the top party schools in the nation. Although, whenever I went out I had my two college roommates, two boys who were like brothers and body guards meshed together in one drunken combination, they pretty much took all the fun out of it for me. Every time I came close to doing anything fun, they’d look at me and say something like, “I don’t know what my buddy, Chris, would think about that…” Bunch of Debbie Downers.
Also in college, I studied English Literature. This meant that at any given time I could produce no less that three different pieces of classical literature from somewhere on my person. I also minored in religion. Needless to say, these two factors were definite steps to Loserville, I’m sure.
And then I married Chris. Chris is tricky. On one hand, he was always the cool party-throwing guy in high school. On the other hand, he was a theater major in college. So, he sort of cancels out any coolness with that. I’m gonna go with him being a neutral in my nerdiness scale.
After we got married we moved to Connecticut where Chris could go to graduate school for technical theater at Yale. As in he became a well educated theater dork. And I became even nerdier.
Then I got a job working at a school of music. And we all know what that means. Band dorks. But I’m not even musical, so I wasn’t even on the cool side of the band dorks. Instead, I wore t-shirts with a picture of John Belushi wearing dark sunglasses with a speech bubble over his head that said, “I’ll Be Bach.” And the band dorks pointed and laughed at me.
I also happen to carry a Mom-bag to school with me everyday. Inside? My polk-a-dot lunch bag, a book on baby food, and my coupon holder. However, the bag itself is pretty cute, so I think that takes some of the nerdiness down a notch.
And the crowning glory in all of this, of course, is the Weblog nomination. The nomination that says, “Out of all the nerds in Geekdom, you are one of the top nerds.” Its the nomination that says, “You’re almost the Best Nerd in 2010.” The nomination that says, “We’re rewarding you for how incredibly hard you work at trying to pretend to be cool online.”
You know, you never really think about nerds and un-nerds when you are an adult. At least, I don’t. (But that’s probably pretty nerdy of me) I mean, adults are adults. We are above the labels and the cliques, right? We stand on our own and we are proud of the people we’ve become, right? Right? RIGHT!?!?!
Oh, good. I’m glad. Because if we were picking teams as adults, I’d be in a lot of trouble.
So, are you an adult nerd? Why or why not? I’m gonna need some good arguments here, people.
35 Comments
Laura
I do not think you’re a nerd! Then again, I am a blogger also, so I don’t know if my opinion actually counts. 😉
Jordan
Well, you don’t think PW is a nerd for being nominated, do you??
I think adults can still be nerds, but being a nerd becomes much cooler when you’re an adult.
Actually, I think the definition of being an adult is being a nerd. Think about it… You work all the time, you don’t party much, you don’t stay up late, you care about things like kitchen gadgets and coupons. Yep.
Lori @I Can Grow people
Katie, you are not a nerd.
If your blog was about your obsession with Dungeons and Dragons, your free time spent conducting science experiments in your at-home chemistry lab and how you named all of your pets after Anime characters–THEN you would be a nerd!
PS: Word on the street is FSU is still a pretty big party school.
Jen
I think nerds are cool. This may be because I may or may not be a nerd…
Anyway… your blog rocks and that’s the only thing that COUNTS!
🙂
Mallory
haha, you forgot to mention that you minored in linguistics…..and I can assure you, that is about one of the nerdiest degrees you can graduate with (at least here at UF). But I’m allowed to point that out because I’m nerdier than you by majoring in it 😉
Kristin
I was definitely a nerd when we were in HS. My mom told me I was the snobbiest nerd she ever met! Let’s face it, band uniforms don’t do anything for getting you a date for Friday night! And to top it off, I grew up to marry the nerdiest of the nerdy (check out the most likely to succeed in that same yearbook lol). So, whenever you feel nerdy, just look over my way. haha! Plus, you might blog, but aren’t I nerdy for reading your blog? 😉 PS I have officially voted for you with all of my email addresses. Amazingly dorky!
Dandy
If you are going to be a nerd you might as well be one of the best nerds of 2009. Right?
AlaskaTeacher
Hahahahaha! Embrace your nerdiness. 🙂
My husband and I revel in ours. Another good gauge of your nerdiness is your book/DVD/game collection…
Jessica @ How Sweet It Is
I think I am a nerd since I am a blogger too!! Hahahah.
Rachel
I think the fact you’re up for a bloggie shows you’re NOT a nerd. So many people can’t want to read about someone who isn’t cool!
When you start to blog about staying in your basement all day with the curtains closed playing computer games and growing your hair into greasy clumps, THEN we can start to get worried about your nerdiness!
Katie
This made me giggle. 🙂
Katy
Yeah, I can’t comfort you. Full-on nerd here. And I don’t even have the semi-cool HS persona. THEN I was a punk. Seriously. Pink hair, flannel-wearing (hey, it was the 90’s), grungy punk. Then majored in computers. Then law school. Now I have a blog. You beat the heck out of me!
KatieB
I don’t think you seem like a nerd.
I mean, do you have a t-shirt that says Enginerd Football, has a picture of a football with glasses on. LOL. (i might)
I graduated as an engineer and had lots of nerdy friends. But I like to think of myself as an outgoing nerd! I embrace it.
Jenn
I have a polka dot lunch box too, does that make me a nerd 🙂
Ashley
Discovered your blog through your Bloggie nomination. CONGRATS. After reading your posts from the past weekend I can say you totally deserve the recognition. Small world as well considering you just mentioned FSU and I live in Tallahassee. Nerd or not keep up the writing. You’ll have a book like P-Dub and Dooce before you know it.
Mindee@ourfrontdoor
Mom nerds wear denim jumpers and have the same hairstyle they had in high school. Also, they wear cute, “themed” socks. Unless you’re doing any of those things you’re good to go.
Casey
You know, I believe that the older you get, the cooler it is to be a nerd.
Of course I just say that because I am a maybe-nerd, too.
Haley
I think if everyone embraced the nerd inside the whole world would be a much better place.
There’s so many wonderful levels of nerdiness. It’s a science really.
And if you need a nerdy story please read the following:
Hubby: I don’t think our marriage is going to make it.
Me: Why? What’s going on?
Hubby: You and I are on such different pages when it comes to interpretive dance. I just don’t see how it’s going to work.
Me: (No comment, just leave the room shaking my head).
End
Katie
LOL!!!!!!
Jaime
Actually, I think that being a nerd in high school almost guarantees coolness as an adult, therefore:
Adult Nerd = Awesome.
Seriously, who wants the best time of their life to be high school, where they peak at 17 and everything goes downhill from there?
I was a nerd extraordinaire as a child/teen (no friends, bad fashion, science geek, etc.), and now I’m married to an ultracool surfer dude (ok, so he’s also a nerdy computer programmer, but whatever) and my geekiness has evolved into funky, cookie-baking, nature girl. Sure it’s nerdy to be able to identify almost every obscure bird that flies past me, but it’s COOL, too.
miren
Now, wearing http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=39325055 that would definitely make you a nerd, but a really proud nerd at that LOL
The Lumberjack's Wife
Nope! Not a nerd! You are cute as a button. And congrats on your nomination!
Laura
I think being an adult nerd is a good thing. Although I may be biased because I definately am a nerd. Not only was I such a bookworm in high school but I was also Newspaper editor. Then in college I was a philosophy major. And, this is the crowning glory, my husband and I met at philosophy club, I was the president my senior year. I kid you not. He was a philosophy major too, as were all of our friends. But I think you are a funny nerd and congrads on the nomination.
Daphne
I love the responses and the look back into your journey to nerdiness. It does beg the question, though, one which has quite a history, what is a nerd versus a dork or a geek?
I venture nerd = smart/studious; dork = socially awkward; and geek = video-gamer, tech nut-type.
And I agree with Rachel when she said that being nominated for an award like this means you’re popular, not that you’re an outcast.
(Oh, and I voted!) Congrats!
Keshet
For shizzle! I love Shakespeare and Jane Austen and religious debates would rather stay home with my hubby and watch a movie than go a swanky party anyday!
Ashley
I’m technically at the age of 20 not even an adult yet, but boy can I promise you that I act like i’m 45 with seven children! I am in no way, shape or form your average “college student” EXCEPT for the fact that I could sleep all day long! So do I consider myself a nerd? ABSOLUTELY! I would rather read your blog about marriage and the Bean than be out partying until the wee hours of the morning….why? Because more than anything I want to be the best wife and mother to my kids that I can be, and thats my ultimate goal in life! Beer bellies and jello shots are just not for me :)I would much rather learn how to make my own baby food and sew cute clothes for my children to be 🙂
roni
CONGRATS!! your blog is adorable!
Sarah B.
Just wanted to say to everyone that Katie never was and is not currently, a nerd. I grew up with her and we were friends in high school and roommates in college- NOT A NERD. I should know- I was a cheerleading in high school. Katie, you always have been popular and loved. Even if you never officially dated Neil Tucker. 🙂 Just giving my shout-out…
Hilary
Let’s see. In high school, I played the violin in the orchestra, was a drama geek, and member of the National Honor Society so I’m going with a nerd factor of 8/10. Oh and I was an English major in college as well and that’s got to be one of the most useless and nerdy degrees you can get. I married a comic book fanatic who still skateboards at 34 and loves video games. Our kids have NO hope . . .
Kimberly Loomis
Ahem…pardon me while I get on my soapbox.
Blogging is writing, and to be nominated for an award you have to be popular and to be popular you have to write well. So you’re not a nerd.
You are a writer.
Did you hear me?
YOU ARE A WRITER!!!
And a savvy, street-smart one, too, because you’ve passed up publishers and editors and all that hullabaloo and published yo’ bad self all by yo’ bad self.
So, if anything, you’re a rebel.
And rebels are cool.
Even redheaded ones.
Lisa
I think after high school it doesn’t really matter whether you were a nerd or the most popular kid in school. As long as you are happy with your accomplishments and your life as it is now, who cares about the past? In the entire world of blogging, the fact that you have been nominated for an award is an amazing achievement and one you should be so proud of, whether you get the nerd vote or not. My vote anyway is that you’re not a nerd!
Laura
i’m 19, and yes, i have been considered a nerd for practically my whole life. however, i have gone through different phases of nerd-dom… as a child i was a book nerd (i even always had crushes on little boys with glasses! how cliche…), in middle school i was a goth-artist-comic book nerd, in high school i both a theater nerd AND reclusive ballet dancer nerd. and now? now i’m a music nerd. another example of my nerdiness is the types of guys i choose to date.
Example 1: Brendan; movie nerd. obsessed with Star Wars and Tarantino movies and is now on his way to becoming a successful film director in Chicago. Go Brendan!
Example 2: Kevin W.; world of warcraft nerd. our conversations eventually became “uh huh… uh huh… uh huh….”. hence, our breakup.
Example 3: Kevin O.; the kind of nerd who wished, more than anything, that he was from Japan. once talked AT me on the phone for THREE HOURS about the logistics of the Japanese game called “Go.”i went jogging AND took a shower in that period of time. note: also a band geek.
Example 4: my current squeeze (aka long-term boyfriend), Connor; works at a hobby store and paints figurines for the game “Warhammer” in his spare time. i don’t know if it gets more nerdy than that… but it’s what i love about him!
Kiana
I just came across your blog – super cute. I went to FSU too ’03-’07 and the guy in the red shirt in your pic looks extremely familiar. Did I make out with him one drunken college night? lol Small world…and my, how we grow up! Your lil Bean is precious 🙂
CJR
First, I just found your blog and I love it.
Second, BLOGGER NERDS UNITE! Seriously, I don’t know what I’d do without my blog. It’s my only creative outlet these days (because I’m a boring lawyer when I really want to be a writer). So if we’re nerds because we love to blog, then so be it!
Jill
I can tell you’re the cool kind of nerd, because I know I am, and WE WORE THE SAME WEDDING DRESS! Looks as good on you as it did on me! 🙂
Don’t you love that dress? I’m still looking for a reason to wear it again (and yes, I choose to believe it will always fit me).
Just found your blog, it’s really cute!