NERD (GEEK) SOULS UNITE! Hi! My name is Kathryn, and I’m a nerd. Oh and a geek too. Hiiiiiiii, Kaaaathrrrryyyn!

Hey, You! HELLLLOOOOO!!! Let me holla at you for a minute. Yes, YOU! You, trying to act all hard and like you can’t just be silly and do some crazy out the box ish. Like you too cooooool for school. Trust me when I tell you that nerds do have more fun.

While at a Farmers Market recently in Baltimore (which by the way Bmore is on the come up), a sistah randomly stopped me to check out a t-shirt I was wearing (was gifted to me that morning-thank you). The t-shirt said, “Nerds Do It Better”. My fellow nerd souljah had connected with the wearable declaration, and we commenced to having a playful yet real exchange that ended with me saying “We gotta claim it.” And, she responding with, “It’s about time.” Our very brief encounter was quite fulfilling and plenty nourishment for the spirit. She got it. She gets how we’ve been suffocating, holding back often all in the name of how it might look. What a refreshing exchange it was. It was a true NERDS SOUL UNITE moment.

I imagine it started at a very early age for you. You know that moment that a vampire sucked the free-spirited energy out of you (this can also apply to dream snatchers). You were acting all silly. Clowning around. Talking to your imaginary friend. Dancing in that corny kind of rhythm less nation Saturday morning cartoon way. ♪♪ So when you’re happy (HURRAAAY). Or sad (AWWW!) Or frightened (Eeeek)… An interjection starts a sentence right!♪♪ And, mama or nana said, “Child stop acting so silly. Stop it. Sit cho butt down.” Or if you got Trinidadian peeps like me it would sound like “Tek care before I buss some licks on yuh backside.” HA!!! And, you not quite believing their seriousness, smirked and continued acting like you were cookooooo for cocoa puffs. And, then you failed the ultimate test of a hot summers day menopausal (yoooooo hot flashes will make a saint of all saints morph in to Lucifer the incarnate) patience as the wrath of big mama (or that Trini wrath) came down on you.

Perhaps you were often silenced. Not listened to. Criticized. Or for you it could have been more traumatic. That moment that the ultimate of violations occurred and your innocence was stolen from a suffering thief who was trusted with the most beautiful precious goods, in this case, an innocent young life. Many victims still living yet not living as they are caught up moving through life with the walking dead.

Now after the spirit assassinators moved forth with their lives oblivious to their transgressions or not oblivious at all as they deliberately attempted (and oftentimes succeeded) to kill your spirit, your path probably took one of three directions. 1. Your spirit silently vowed even at that young age that no one would steal your joy. You smirked, cried it off, and kept it moving with determined reckless abandon to ultimate success. However that looked for you. “Look at me. Look at me. I’m a unicorn.” 2. It had a profound effect on you. However, not enough that it would ultimately doom you to a consistent life of pain and boredom. But, at times had you noticeably tight-wound. Yet, thankful with the ability to self-diagnose the unattractive vampire symptoms, and subsequently being able to check yourself, process, regroup, and proceed to go all out in full nerddom. Ummmm… Yeah, I fall into this category. 3. You were so wronged that your free spirit and self-esteem were shattered. The inner child was prematurely put to death and you began to fall into a downward spiral of perfection, pleasing others, worrying about how you or it looks, and choosing to not dance like someone was not watching. As the beat of your own drum was lost forever. Hence, the student now became the perpetrator/teacher now shunning others because of their displays of nerddom and living their lives out loud. Passive aggressively inviting them into your soulless home because after all crabs do hate to die alone in a barrel.

But, trust it’s never too late to turn the tide. You can pack up and choose to take up residence in a joyful nerd accessorized home. How? It’s easy. BE YOU! Whatever that is. Tap into your passion(s) and LIVE it. It’s never too late to be the person you were put on this earth to be. Oh, and LAUGH. Laugh at any and everything, including you. Be silly.

DO YOU! Ride a horse. Stare at pictures and statues in a museum. Climb a mountain. Go bird watching. Read a book. Lots of them. Star gaze. Go to the opera. Play chess. Join a band. “This one time in band camp.” Or simply wave your hands like you just don’t care.

BE YOU! Be an astrophysicist, librarian, curator, gardener, ballerina, genealogist…

LOVE YOU, others, and life! Forgive and learn to trust again. Not only others but also yourself. Be loving, compassionate, affirming, nurturing, and kind. Embrace your and others uniqueness.

I must admit that sometimes I allow myself to get caught up in the world of others who knowingly or unknowingly attempt to cease and desist me exploring and living a fun and purposeful life. Or who don’t get me or life and therefore rain on my playful displays of joy, silliness, and gut busting laughter. Sometimes I am unknowingly hypnotized and become the vampire towards others or even turning on myself. But, through it all I work (you got to put in the work to stay on the road of self-love and nerddom) at getting out of my own way and channeling my inner child as I continue to be cookooooo for cocoa puffs. And, by doing this I without a word but with action give others permission to do the same. You see how that works? Join me! Pleeeeaaassseeee! The movement needs you. YOU NEED YOU!

So it’s time to lighten up. Time to laugh as often as possible until your gut is about to bust (YO Dereine we are way overdue.). To dance silly and wild. Shoot you remember Ellen from Seinfeld and how she would get down? Full on so you think you can dance nerddom.

Your inner child deserves to breathe, exhale, and live freely. So by all means it’s okay to think and do outside of the box. Matter of fact Rule #1 of Nerddom is you MUST think and do outside of the box. Boxes are nerd’s kryptonite. If you’re worried about what anyone is going to think, don’t. It’s your world. It’s your joy. It’s your freedom. It’s your life to live. And, you deserve to live it as outrageously as you possibly can. Ride the wheels of nerddom and geekdom until they fall off.

SIDEBAR: One more thing. Forgive! Forgive! Forgive those jerks from your ruined Christmas past of reindeer sweater haters. And, forgive you because if nothing else you’re stuck with you for the rest of your life. That’s another blog post in the making. But for now, live your life out loud. The Nerd (Geek) Soul Movement needs you.

Find Your Voice! And, BeDoLove like a nerd/geek! — kcb

“Dedicated to my Nerd/Geek Soul Movement Squad.”