I am a nerd.

What? No wedgies up the flagpole? No shoving me into a locker? No swirlies?

I thought not. Because you see, I am a nerd and nobody cares.

It didn’t used to be this way. For a long time, being a nerd was a stigma. It was a word to describe people who were overly intelligent and obsessed with being so, who were socially awkward and constantly terrorized.

They roamed the school hallways in packs, whispering to each other in nasally voices in an effort to avoid beefy jocks whose sole purpose in life was to mock intelligence.

Their glasses were always taped, their pockets were always protected, and their pants were always wedged firmly under their armpits. In short, they were the collective Steve Urkel.

But something has shifted in the world of the nerd. Maybe it’s social consciousness that bullying might be a bad thing. Maybe it’s a change in personal confidence.

My friends are nerds too. And my family. And most of the people I choose to associate with. We wear that nerd badge with pride because these days (and here’s the shocker), being a nerd is actually pretty cool.

Being a nerd means you can have deep, philosophical conversations with your friends about the meaning of life and happiness, and then immediately switch over to discussing a YouTube video.Being a nerd means that not only do you spend time reading books, but that you have favorite books. Or bands. Or plays. Or video games.

Being a nerd means yeah, you hang out with other nerds. But not because you’re afraid you’ll be picked on if you don’t. Because you feel comfortable to be yourself around them.

Being a nerd means you can spend your time pursuing things that not many other people may care at all about, but that make you happy.
It means you don’t have to know how to dance. It means you can openly admit to liking math or science. It means you can come to school in a Pokemon shirt and receive not punches, but high-fives.

Really, being a nerd right now just means you have passion for something.

Doesn’t matter what that is. Do you play in a band? Congrats, welcome to the ranks of the Music Nerds.

Are you obsessed with Broadway? There’s a group of Theater Nerds calling your name.

There’s Math Nerds, History Nerds, Gamer Nerds. You could even call the athletes at our school Sports Nerds.

So which nerd am I? I watch Star Wars and Star Trek; I could be a Sci-Fi Nerd. I’m a Fantasy Nerd, if you factor in my love for Tolkien and the Harry Potter series. I could be a Movie Nerd, a Music Nerd; I could even be a Swimming Nerd.

I belong to the ranks of several groups of nerds, and none are better than another. They’re just equally passionate groups of people spending their free time doing what they love.

So, everyone out there: when it comes right down to it, we’re all nerds. So let your freak flag fly. Embrace that nerd card, and wear it with pride. I know I do.

And, as always: live long and prosper.