I spent last weekend traipsing around the largest Comic Conventon in the U.S. I held hands with my teenager as she pulled me through Star Wars, Star Trek, Superman, Batman, Yugiyo...She would pause and point: "There's another Doctor Who!" "Look! It's Snape!" "Check out the Assassin's Creed characters. Where's my camera?" I would stumble and stammer: "Who's that?" "What's that?" "It's Harry! Harry Potter!"
Besides the loveliness of my 15-year old holding hands unabashedly with her mom, I totally immersed myself, with thousands of others, in the joy of geekdom. Yes, there were scantily-clad Supergirls and silly Anime hotties with funky hair, but the menagerie of characters offered up on the convention floor provided a glimpse into the diversity of our individual passions. Why does this person, seemingly mundane on any other occasion, choose to don a Batman outfit while another is dressed in some dystopian steampunk attire? (goggles a must!) A suburban family of four parts the crowd with their monochromatic Incredibles suits. That fat girl has transformed into Mario's sweet princess. The accountant slips into The Joker, purple hair and all. They all look awesome.
Some people don't get it. I say, "What's wrong with you? Where did your sense of whimsy go and why aren't you out trying to find it?" Everyone should have an inner geek, somewhere in there. We should all find the occasion to let it loose, sometimes, at least. Geeks have no shame. They don't apologize for their passion. They just are. They grab it and don't let go, whatever their IT is.
I feel fortunate that my teenager is a Geek. She may never be Prom Queen. Her room is not full of sports trophies. She's not even going to be Valedictorian. I think she's got something else...a secret weapon that will take her anywhere she wants to go: Passion.
It's the Year of the Geek in my household. Find what fascinates and hold on tight. Want to be a Scuba Diver? Okay! Let's swim, learn about dolphins and sharks, wear that mask and snorkel literally EVERYWHERE! Check out the ocean. Play with the kelp. Live that dream!
Are you a dancer? Okay! Sashay across the kitchen floor. Float to that ballad. Shake your booty to Gaga. Find that Prima Donna in your soul (oh, that's been there for a long time already...), grab her by the waist and spin with Glee. Learn to make your own music. Sing your own song!
I'm thankful for the Geeks in my life. The Geeks in my community. The Geeks in the world. What a bore we all would be without them to remind us that whimsy and magic are still going strong, that if you wear it like you own it, then you really do own it. A true geek believes it. You can too. Just grab their hand---or those cool coattails--and get taken along for the ride. Wheeeeeeee!
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