Geek Pride Day

Today is Geek Pride Day--it's on Facebook and Wikipedia so it must be true, right?

I first realized I was a geek sometime around 3rd grade. I didn't know I was a geek but I did know I was different and weird. I liked math and Star Trek which were both weird, especially for girls. I didn't know anyone else who (admitted) liked Star Trek (aside from my parents, who obviously Don't Count).

I spent most of the next two decades denying my geekiness. During that time, I also acquired a science BS but, I didn't embrace the lifestyle, kept quiet about my love of all things Trek and pretended that I understood human behavior. The last part got much easier because, even as I was denying my geekiness, I was surrounding myself with geekier and geekier people. Graduate school was just the logical next step on that path.

During grad school I finally realized that I couldn't deny my fundamental geekiness. I put on socks and sandals[1] and never looked back. Along the way I acquired two advanced degrees g, discovered usenet (I've met many friends on teh Internets, although we've migrated from usenet to Facebook) and immersed myself in academic science. I didn't really think about being geeky because everyone around me was. I finally understood human behavior--at least the behavior of the humans around me.

Then I had children. And they started public school. And everything changed. I had to become Minivan Mom (although the minivan didn't arrive until the child #3).

I spent the first part of my life denying my geekiness, the second part living geekiness. Since then I've been trying to reconcile the two parts.

Am I succeeding? Too soon to tell. I am pleased that D1 openly identifies as a geek and D2, while self-defining as "artistic" (which is just another word for geeky:-)) posts things like "May the mass times acceleration be with you" on my Facebook wall. D3 is too young to tell (it's fine if she's not a geek, but, if she is, I don't want her feel she has to deny it).

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[1] I've only worn socks/sandals infrequently because (like many geeks!) I have sensory issues and I don't like the way it feels.