Nerds: More than Meets the Eye

Illustration by Marcus Jones| VOX Staff

By Marcus Jones
VOX Staff

I can’t count the times I woken up early on a Saturday morning forgetting to take care of my personal hygiene, hitting the kitchen cabinets for a hearty bowl of Commando Crunch (store brand 4 life), and heading to the TV to try and catch the rest of my favorite cartoons before the credits came on. There were also the times when I ran home from school to check out the newest episode of Rocko’s Modern Life (a Nickelodeon classic). By the time I was nine, I stopped doing my homework at 5 p.m. to see if Goku was finally going to defeat Freeza on Toonami (this was when Moltar was running the show). It wasn’t long before my long fingers reached for my first manga (Japanese anime). I’ve never been happier and I’m proud of what I’ve become: an Otaku.

Yes, I’m an Otaku (anime fan), a guy who loves playing old school SNES games, thinks the Sega Dreamcast was the best system out there, quotes lines from “Family Guy”, “Superbad”, “South Park”, “Chappell Show” and some Internet videos and still likes to watch the occasional Saturday morning cartoon (even though most of them pretty much suck). And of course, I head to annual anime/comic book conventions to get my hands on the latest new issue or rarest game out there. Living the Otaku life couldn’t be any more fun. But unfortunately, whenever there’s a positive, there comes a negative.

Branded Label
When the common society looks at us, average Otakus or other comic/game/movie/toy fanatics, there’s a high probability we’ll be called geeks, nerds or losers. When you hear those words, what do you picture? Some dude who has breathing issues with a runny nose? Mix that with the feeling of being an outcast with glasses, heat it on a plate other stereotypes, leave it in the oven and SHAZZAM — the everyday nerd. At first we let the word pass us by with a shrug of our shoulders. Then like a nasty itch, the name-calling starts to irritate us at an unimaginable rate until we lose our minds.

Has this happened to me? Yeah. It mostly comes from the kids who think they’re cool. One time, hurrying between classes, I was passing between a few people when some girl screamed “NERD!!” next to her friends (I guess she was trying to be funny). It pissed me off, but all I did was roll my eyes and go on with my day. There it was again, the itch. Luckily I found a remedy that soothes it right away: All you need to do is stop and think about it for a second, and you realize those you call who nerd are, in fact, nerds themselves.

Guess What, You’re a Nerd Too!
It surprises me how many people will try to single you out, when they are total hypocrites with the stuff they don’t notice about themselves. What is a nerd? It’s a person who has a general obsession about some particular hobby or thing. So what do you obsess about? Sometimes you have to look silently at the people who may call you names and listen to what they love to talk about. Hearing these people shows that they’re total nerds in their own ways. You have some who live for some music artist or TV, the fashion freaks (yes, shoes count too), and of course there’s the art of gossip from both sexes. Sports are prime examples of nerd-dom. You can’t tell me that looking at some team’s stats on offense/defense and yelling at the top of your lungs to your buddy that this or that team should’ve had a first round draft pick isn’t nerdy. And let’s not forget about fantasy team picks. The connection is clearly there when you boil down the facts.

Of course you have those who can’t see the old pig skin being closely related to a magic wand or some type of Japanese video game. Like cheap water pipes, the excuses will come pouring out. You might hear some like: “Its way more important than that” or “How you can compare this to something that isn’t real?” It goes great with “How can that be taken as seriously as this?” featuring “That isn’t as interesting/tough/extreme as this.” Just a few examples from the endless river flowing to the ocean of excuses (yes, there’s that much).

But all those B.S. comments can be squashed. It doesn’t matter if a hobby or thing that someone likes is fictional or not. As long as somebody has a passion for doing something they consider enjoyable, it’s a hobby. Just because one group of people will say a hobby isn’t nerdy, doesn’t mean that other people won’t make the hobby nerdy. Now it should make some type of sense.

Nerd on the Inside
Not surprisingly, some teens are scared to admit that they are nerds. They all have reasons. Some would fall under vanity, popularity or insecurity. You feel that if you admit to liking something, then your friends might leave you or you’ll be judged differently. It shouldn’t matter what people think about you. Why should other people’s opinions bother you at all? The only thing your friends should do is support you. It would help if you supported them in their interests too.

When I go to anime conventions, I go there not only to shop for comics and movies, but also to be around people who share my passion for all things that are anime and video games. Plus the people I meet there are all interesting, as long as you respect everyone.

In the end there’s a type of nerd in all of us. If everyone realizes this, it could open the door to discovering all that we have in common. Going to anime/comic book conventions opened my eyes to see that I’m not the only person who reads Heavy Metal or is into the newest Street Fighter game. Looking at these people gives me joy in being a nerd and anticipating what’s next down the road of my anime/comicbook journey. Now if you excuse me, I have to finish watching the rest Naruto Shippuden.

Marcus is a senior at Tri-Cities High. He likes manga, curry and free money.