That's Me In The Corner...

From the name of this blog, to the post I did on surviving bullying, I think it comes as no surprise that I'm a bit of a nerd. Well, that's not true. Technically, nerds are academically proficient. The proper term is geek, meaning someone whose interests lie outside the mainstream and border on obsessive. But apparently that term changed to nerd this year and became a source of controversy, as outlined in this polarizing article from Cracked.
As I read along, I found myself nodding and uh-huhing, which in itself is strange because I admit, I don't often agree with that particular columnist. It does seem that suddenly everyone is a 'nerd' about something these days and yes, it's kind of annoying to those of us who were ostracized at some point for liking things that are suddenly okay. But as annoying as it is to remember the hurtful things people said and did, why should I or any other adult 'nerd' wish the same bad experiences on the next generation? Instead of acting like a bunch of self righteous hipsters, we should be proud that we were, even if we didn't realize it, pioneers in the fight for 'nerd rights.'
But to turn the tables again, what exactly is a nerd these days? According to Buzzfeed, 2013 was a great year to be a nerd. Looking over their list and realizing that I only had a passing knowledge of a handful of the shows and movies they listed, I've determined that I'm no longer a nerd because I'm not in love with that weird looking guy who plays Loki in the Avengers movies or that slithery lizard looking guys who plays Sherlock. Plus seriously, the iPhone? What, is this 1985 and only nerds use technology? Okay, that may be a different rant for another day.
So where does that leave me? I can't exactly call my interests mainstream if mainstream is still defined as reality television, Top 40 radio stars, box office hits/Oscar contenders, or books from the bestseller list. But by the same token, I haven't a clue what's big with the alt crowd these days either. My main source of entertainment is books, primarily self-published indie books in the sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and young adult categories. I enjoy art and going to museums, and occasionally crafting and attempting to make art of my own, and I also enjoy cooking and trying new 'foodie' type things. Beyond that, well, I waste a lot of time on the internet looking at humor sites. Good god, I almost sound cultured!
So technically, I've lost the right to call myself a geek and this bothers me more than it should. We're people, we shouldn't have labels. But we do, because we're people and our brains like to compartmentalize everyone and everything into neat categories that are easy to understand.  I guess I still have socially awkward, but even that is being twisted to mean quirky or deep and mysterious. Weird has become the new creepy and freak apparently doesn't apply to behavior outside the bedroom these days.
So look at that, I've become a tragically misunderstood character who doesn't conform to a preset category meant to quickly and easily display my interests and level of social adjustment to the rest of the world. I guess that makes me a, gasp, person!
Darn it. I was hoping I'd get some kind of robot.