Guest Post~ How to raise Nerds!

29 Aug

Recent guest poster, and regular NerdLush BTS researcher/archivist, Barbara is back to share her thoughts on raising nerds. And speaking as one of the nerds she raised… she knows what she is talking about.

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I raised nerds. I’m not quite sure how I did it but I am quite happy with the result.

Nerds are (in general) quite nice people. They are smart, thoughtful, well read and articulate. They have interesting minds, and most can converse on many subjects. Popular belief is the they are shy and anti-social. I have not found this to be true. My children and their friends are fairly well adjusted, relatively happy, employed and successfully “adulting”.

That’s pretty good in these particular times.

So how did we get here?

It started with reading. To them; every day. Books were carefully chosen and were presented often. So were trips to the library. And the local comic book store where they discovered the greats; Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman and the rest. As well as adults who were willing to talk to small children and explain collecting and preserving their treasures.

And that lead to cartoons on TV.

Their TV was limited but somehow I wound up being dragged out of bed on Saturday mornings to watch the animated “Star Trek” because they knew I liked ST:TOS.

Cartoons on TV led to a 4 year old enthralled as a Star Destoyer rumbles across alien skies ; and, years later, his little sister collecting princess ewoks and Bobba Fett.

There were other clues as to where we were headed like Legos…hundreds of them all embedded in the carpet and ready to fit into the arch of a parental foot…for example.

But the real turning point was a simple little homegrown “comic con” just down the 99 highway and a little to the east. We took a day trip. They had comics and people in costume and art and food and it was so fun. So of course we went to the next one and then we headed for one in LA at the Sheraton Universal.

They met Sulu and Chekov (George Takei and Walter Koenig) two of the nicest guys in the world and that was that. He shook hands and she dimpled and sat on laps. San Diego was the logical progression. He and a friend started spending a day there when he was 11 or so. They’ve been back several times; both as spectators and participants (writing and photographing for this blog).

Cons and comics, movies and TV programs were followed by D&D, more shows …Buffy, Xena, Firefly/Serenity and the “brown coats”, multi-player role playing games, blogs, fan fiction and art. There were/are bands formed by favored actors, friends from the cons, blogs, games from all over this country and beyond.

Some days as they happily team up to go catch Pokeman together I wonder what I did wrong or right but I don’t worry about it. I wouldn’t change what we did then and what they continue to do now. Nerds grow up to be good people.