As a child, there wasn’t a word for what I was. At least, I didn’t know a word existed. I did the things other kids did: played outside, watched cartoons, ate Happy Meals.  But, I also did things like read voraciously (before I was even in kindergarten), invent little worlds inside my head, and enjoyed hanging out with adults. This, I know now, was atypical. It was fun, but atypical.  One night, our babysitter let us watch Revenge of the Nerds on HBO.  I immediately identified with Lewis and Gilbert. Not necessarily as the horn-rimmed glasses and short pants wearing nerds they were, but as a fellow smart kid, outcast, and recipient of name calling. We all know the drill. We’ve all been on one side or the other of this dilemma. As much as the “I’m a nerd and I’m pretty proud of it” speech inspired me, I was still terrified to go back to school knowing that’s exactly what I was: a nerd.

So, I did what most pre-teens did. I worked hard to be cool. I demanded fashionable clothing and a spiral perm. I wore make-up and tried to join in activities like going to football games and social clubs. It didn’t take long before I realized I did not fit in to that kind of world.  I was liked, but not well, because I was definitely different. I always had a book in hand to shut out the awkwardness. I closed myself off to fend off the odd looks and hurtful words. I actually really liked going to school and I had a different background than literally everyone I knew. I started going to college in high school. I never got invited to a single party. Not one. I had some friends outside of my school and only a few close ones in it.  I made it through high school fairly anonymously, mostly unscathed. I began to try out different things to feel a part of something, but nothing ever worked. So, while school and learning was a tremendous joy for me, socializing wasn’t. That’s a pretty hard thing for a kid. Feeling like part of something, finding that locus, is important.  As a child, it’s even more important because you aren’t yet equipped to deal with that level of rejection and loneliness.  At a certain point, the only thing I could do is create my own culture. To cultivate my individuality. What I didn’t realize was that what I was cultivating in myself would, a decade later, turn into a movement full swing.

I'm A Nerd And I'm Proud Of It!

In college, I still had that nerdy, outcast kid feeling. My first weeks at Loyola were torturous. It was like living high school all over again. I was practically frozen with fear anytime anyone said anything to me. But, slowly, we as freshman began to loosen up and participate in class and in each other’s lives. And I remember the day something wonderful and life-changing hit me. It was a beautiful, sunny fall day and I was sitting in the back of a world history class taught by a nun. There was a really pretty and outgoing girl from Philly making some random terrific point about Egyptian civilization. When she finished, someone behind her said, with absolute wonder and respect, “Wow, you’re really smart.” I was blown away. And I realized it: We were smart. Everyone in that class was smart and it was appreciated. I was finally somewhere it was appreciated. It was unbelievable to me. It still kind of is.

That day broke down a bunch of my own personal social barriers. I wasn’t afraid to share the things I knew. I stopped being afraid that people would discover my dirty secret: that I was (am, always will be) a nerd. I was amongst friendlies and have ever since sought them out. This new life, these new people, was a world away from the small Texas football town I was raised in. I no longer felt like an outcast. I realized that Lewis and Gilbert were right. There are a lot more of us than there are of them. It was just a matter of finding where they were. So, it was with great joy when I returned to New Orleans after being gone for 9 years, I found a whole new post-Katrina influx of young and super-smart people. I suspect there are more.

In my never-ending quest to find new and different things to explore, I stumbled upon Nerd Nite. The tagline was right up my alley: It’s like the Discovery Channel with beer! The premise: To get a bunch of really smart people together to watch other really smart people deliver presentations on any subject their nerd hearts desire. Beer and major nerdery for one night a month? Yes, please!  I got in touch with Matt Wasowski, of Nerd Nite NYC and the one who took the idea and really turned it into a revolution, and he excitedly got me started on setting up a chapter here at home. After a short derailment because my job sent me to Memphis, we are up and running and I couldn’t be happier.

Nerd Nite NOLA is rolling right along and I want the people of New Orleans, whether you’re a nerd, a spazz, a dork or a geek, to be a part of this movement. Want to give a 101 in the layout and modifications of the Millennium Falcon? Are you an expert in Civil War military strategies? Have you an interesting social theory on how the cast of Jersey Shore can save the world? Bring it! Nerd Nite is giving you the freedom to nerd out on anything YOU are interested in sharing. AND THERE’S BEER! AMONGST OTHER NERDS! I simply cannot express the utter joy I am experiencing knowing you are all out there.

My plea, in the immortal words of Lewis Skolnick: If you’ve ever felt stepped on, left out, picked on, put down, whether you think you're a nerd or not, why don't you just come down here and join us, okay? Come on. We’ve all got something nerdy to share.