Passions, interests, hobbies – whatever you want to call them, the majority of us have things that we love so much and know so much about that at times it’s almost embarrassing. My mother is a ‘collector’. Whether it be teddy bears, tapestries or flower pots, she gets geeky when she’s in full ‘collector’ hunter mode and isn’t satisfied until she has accumulated a large quantity of whatever she happens to be interested in at the time. Her passion is the hunt itself – discovering antique shops, boot fairs, strange little shops in the middle of nowhere – all in search of the ‘prize’. She must have more locations stored in her brain than Google Maps! People think she’s a little eccentric but she doesn’t give a shit. Collecting is her passion and she loves it because it makes her happy.
For me, it’s fantasy, horror and sci-fi. Whether it be reading it, watching it, drawing it, writing about it or daydreaming about it (yes Thor, I will marry you and join The Avengers so we can save the universe together), fantasy, horror and sci-fi are the things that have always made me happy. When I was younger, I found myself hiding my interests away because I was worried that people would think I was ‘sad’ and a loser, but these days, I seriously could not give a damn what people think. My passions make me happy, they don’t hurt anyone and they keep me entertained. Who cares what people think?
Unfortunately I did care what people thought, when I was a teenager and into my 20’s too. My friends were reading romances and I was obsessed with the new Stephen King. They were ordering makeup and I was ordering comic books. When it came to movies, they wanted to go and see ‘Bridget Jones’ Diary’ and I wanted to go and see the new ‘Star Wars’ film. I was watching ‘Doctor Who’, whilst they were watching ‘The X Factor’. When you’ve got no one to share your interests with, it often feels as though they aren’t worthwhile and you can start to question whether you might be a bit, well, weird.
Of course, it’s different these days. The world has opened up. We are living in the ‘Age of the Geek’; Marvel movies are consistent blockbusters, Bob Ross has become a self-care icon, Elon Musk is flying rockets into space and ‘The Big Bang Theory’ (a show all about geeks who have advanced careers in science and passions for a number of typically geeky interests) became one of the most popular programmes ever! In today’s world, being a geek is cool. If anyone tells you otherwise, they’re probably just not particularly interesting or they’re trying to conform to some outdated societal norm.
Expressing your inner geek is a key part of self-care. The things that you love are a part of you and you should feel comfortable indulging in your passions. The things that you get ‘geeky’ about may not be anything to do with stereotypical ‘geeky’ interests. Nowadays, you can be a sewing geek, a painting geek, a curry cooking geek or even a football geek. It doesn’t matter – if you have one thing that you adore, then embrace it and unleash your inner geek upon the world. Letting your inner geek out means letting more of your inner self or the ‘real you’ out, making you happier and helping you to connect more authentically with others.
Here are our top tips for helping you to embrace the geek inside:-
- If you’re struggling to find someone who shares your interests, why not look for a local group or an online forum to join? Big reader? Check your local area for a book club to join. Movie buff? Movie magazine websites often have a discussion forum for their readers to geek out about the latest releases.
- Like the idea of dressing up and pretending to be your favourite fantasy character? Check online for comic conventions to attend (there’s always a lot of people who love cosplay) or check for competitions to enter and online communities to join where dressing up is the main aim. For role-players with an interest in gaming and dressing up at the same time, check your local area for LARPing (Live Action Role Play) groups. These ‘live’ games often take place outside so they may be more able to host events during the current COVID-19 situation.
- Passionate about painting, pottery and getting creative? Get busy and start making something beautiful. If you’re feeling brave, why not share it with friends or family and get their feedback. Just to warn you, creation always comes with criticism (and occasionally jealousy) but don’t let that hold you back from honing your skills.
- Sign up for a local or online class – whether its honing your cooking skills or getting crafty with a sewing machine, learning is the ultimate way to geek out and you’ll meet some like-minded people along the way.
- Got an enthusiasm for writing but don’t know where to start? There are millions of story prompts all over the internet so get surfing and get crafting your epic tales. Not feeling very original but enjoy a certain movie series or TV show? Why not get inspired and start crafting some fan fiction – it’s crazy popular these days. Did you know that the ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ book series originally started out as ‘Twilight’ fan fiction? (There’s your geeky fact of the day!)
Whatever your passion, embrace it today and stop denying the things that make you happy. Give your geek free rein and let her run free – who knows, your geekery may even lead you to a career that you don’t just like, but love.
Get your geek on and so just be.
SJB
So Just Be 