I used to think that it was a bad thing to be a geek. I may have been married to a geek, but I most certainly did not consider myself to be one. I rolled my eyes at his comic books and super hero movies. Seriously, wasn’t he supposed to be a grown-up?
I was rather horrified when I secretly started to enjoy sci-fi movies. I had laughed at the very idea of movies like “Starship Troopers”, but now I had not only seen it, I had enjoyed it. The horror! I could never let anyone know this! I must stay safely in the geek closet.
Then came the day that hubby told me that Dina Meyer, one of the stars of “Starship Troopers” was going to be at our local Comic Con. Ever since I saw ST she had been one of my favorite actresses. I very much wanted to meet her, but how could I go to a Comic Con? Those things were for geeks and I most certainly was not one! Of course, I couldn’t pass it up so I decided to go. I was fully prepared to be amused by the silly people in their silly costumes. What happened that day amazed me. I was completely stunned by the people that were at that Comic Con. I had never been around a group of people that were so immediately accepting. There were no strangers there. It didn’t matter that you had never met, they were immediately ready to strike up a conversation. Perfect strangers were trading tips on which lines were the longest and which celebrity guests were the nicest. The cosplayers (the “silly costume people”) were willing to pose for photos for as long as anyone wanted. The sheer level of work that went into some of those costumes, not to mention the practice it must have taken to get down the appropriate mannerisms and poses, was staggering.
Another thing that I found extremely moving was the level of acceptance. It didn’t matter if a person was fat, thin, tall, or short. It didn’t matter if you wore glasses, had acne, or were a super model. These people just accepted that everyone was there because of a shared passion. For someone who had once judged this culture, I was beyond humbled.
By the end of the day, I had completely changed my tune about geek culture. Instead of snickering, I embraced. My twitter feed started filling up with people like Will Wheaton. I’ve since gone to two other Cons. One was by myself and the other hubby and I traveled all the way to Chicago for. I have met some amazing people and had some terrific experiences. So, am I a geek? You bet!