Welcome to my new blog: The Wandering Nerd! I've tried to do blogs before, but I want to start over, this time with a much broader approach than before. Instead of trying to pigeon-hold myself into a specific medium or genre, I figured I'd simply write about whatever crosses my mind (or at least whatever I think its blog-worthy).
While this may seem like I might not have an idea of what I'm doing (which is partially true), I do want to at least stay focusing on my main pursuits, all of which have a certain nerdiness to them, but I like them and they are what I want to talk about.. Which I suppose brings me back around to myself.
Who am I?
Well, I'm a nerd, though I suppose that may mean different things to different people. For what it's worth, I define the word "nerd" to mean "a person who has a great appreciation of a particular thing" or "someone who is passionate about something." With that in mind, there are all kinds of nerds, even about things that might not be "traditionally" nerdy, like sports, cars, handicrafts, baking, history, film, and music, as well as all the classic nerdy stuff. (Just as a side note, I consider "geek" to be slightly different, in that a geek can actually DO the things he or she is passionate about, whereas a nerd might not. For example, I enjoy martial arts movies, but I don't do martial arts, so I'm a martial arts nerd.)
So what am I a nerd for? Well, a lot of the classic stuff, really. Fantasy, science-ficiton, cartoons, comics, video games, anime, manga, movies, etc. Even my taste in music is somewhat eclectic and strange. The phrase "humanities nerd" feels quite appropriate. While I have been fairly good at math and science, they really didn't excite me like these other things do. I think it simply boils down to being a fan of stories, and enjoying all the different ways stories can be exciting. I did get a B of A in English where my emphasis was in Creative Writing. Not that I've written anything of note, but I did learn how to analyze and understand stories, which has only helped me to appreciate them even more.
That being said, I do sometimes feel that I'm spread a little too thin, that I'm into more things than I have time to really appreciate and get into. All of the anime that I want to watch competes with all of the video games I want to play, all the movies I want to see, all of the books I want to read, and all of the music that I want to listen to. There are times where I don't know what to do with myself because I have so much I want to dig into, so I end up doing nothing (I know; first world problems).
Still, I enjoy these various things, but I end up shifting from one passion to another, making me something of a "Jack of All Nerds." I would have named this blog that, but it turns out to already be taken. I eventually settled on "The Wandering Nerd," mostly because that's how I feel at times: I'm wandering from one nerdy camp to another, picking up a few things, having a good time, but then finding something else to focus on.
Which brings me back to this blog, which I think will have two main purposes: One, to share my opinions about the stuff I like. Not necessarily reviews (though that may happen), but my thoughts or reactions to the various things that entertain me. And two, to help me break out of my shell. One of the things that's been bugging me lately is how I simply observe and consume entertainment without really giving anything back. I see talented people putting their work and ideas out there for me to enjoy, but I am not contributing anything myself, and I think that needs to change. At the moment, I don't know what I can commit to, but I feel confident that I can keep a somewhat regular blog going, so I'm starting there. Maybe I try something else, but I really want to give this thing a shot.
As you may have noticed, I have a bit of a rambling style. Probably because it's been years since I finished my English major (though I did get a Masters in something else), and I'm sure commenting all sorts of internet threads doesn't help, but it's what I've ended up with at this point, and I think I want to keep it this way. I'm a wanderer, so maybe rambling is natural.
In any case, if you happen to stumble across this blog for any reason, you're more than welcome to join me on my strange journey. Even if no one reads my blog, even if my words end up being drowned out by the massive ocean of information that is the internet, I still want to try and say something. Maybe it's only for myself, but maybe that's all that matters for now, but I want to try nonetheless.
And if you see that I haven't made a new post in a while, go hunt me down on reddit or twitter or something and give me a swift kick in the pants. My mood may change later, but for right now, I really want to make this thing work!
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