geek - Queen of Contemporary

Blogging and Reading Through Other People’s Eyes

Posted on 11 December, 2013

I’ve never made it a secret that I love reading. In fact, I like to reveal that part of myself just as much as people like talking about their favourite football team or band. The thing with reading, though, is that people view it as weird and because I like reading I’m seen as a geek or a nerd. Not that I have a problem with this, because it really doesn’t bother me. Blogging about books, though? People find that hard to understand.

By blogging I’m taking my nerd levels to extreme heights. So, how exactly do people react?

Some people are genuinely interested and ask me questions. They ask me about reviewing for publishers and how it works, whether I get paid (I have had people ask this millions of times, and they don’t seem to understand that, no, I don’t get paid), and I don’t mind talking to people like this. It’s surprised me sometimes when some people ask and it’s totally out of character. I enjoy talking about what I do and sharing it with other people, because they’re not really familiar with anything like it.

Then there is the other type of person that thinks I’m stupid and wonders why on Earth I do what I do. And I understand completely why they might think that. It is quite a weird thing for a teenager to be doing. I put so much work into my blog and sometimes I’m not exactly sure what I get out of it. But I enjoy it and I don’t want to stop. I like sharing a part of my life with you all and I love you guys to pieces. People who aren’t a part of our community won’t realise just how amazing it is.

I want to set myself a few goals. When people ask me condescendingly if I’ve reviewed the book I’m currently reading (‘Well, I’m not going to review it if I’m in the middle of reading it, am I?’), I won’t bite their heads off with a snarky reply. After all, they have no idea what I actually do and I suppose it’s my job to educate them.

The other goal I’m going to set myself is to stop worrying what other people think. I’m generally good at doing this, but sometimes things do bother me and I want to try and stop this. Everyone has something they geek out about and my geeky thing is books. I’m not going to apologise for that, and I don’t feel I have to.

I love reading, and I’m proud to say it.

If people know about your reading and blogging, how have they reacted? If not, is there a reason you don’t tell anyone? Let me know!

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Embracing My Inner Geek (11)- Is it Cool to be a Geek?

Posted on 18 August, 2013

The majority of teenagers today confuse me. Surprised? Okay, so I may be a teenager myself, but there’s one thing that has me flummoxed.

Sometimes (well, quite a lot of the time), I get looked down upon for reading, and for actually bothering to pay attention and learn something in lessons. I get called a ‘geek’ and a ‘nerd’ and that’s just by my friends. I’d hate to think what some people think of me, but that’s a conversation for another post. Yet, I see these same people that would look at me in contempt posting pictures of themselves on Facebook wearing t-shirts with the word ‘geek’ emblazoned over the front and oversized glasses on their faces. Needless to say that most of these people have perfect eyesight. Are the terms ‘geek’ and ‘nerd’ derogatory as they once were, or do they have a different meaning entirely now?

I’m not ashamed to admit that, yes, I own one of these geek t-shirts that everybody seems to be wearing. To be fair, I didn’t pay the 20-30 pounds I’ve seen asked for on some websites, because I found one in a charity shop for a very cheap price. If I hadn’t have found it that day, I would never have thought to have bought one on the Internet because I don’t feel like I need a t-shirt to show who I am. Nevertheless, I invariably bought it, not because I wanted to follow the latest trends or be like my friends, but because I am proud of the fact that I like to learn and am not ashamed to show it. Whether I have a t-shirt/badge/insert other geeky item here or not, I’m still going to show these habits that give people reason to call me a ‘geek’ or a ‘nerd’. After all, I’m not going to change myself for someone else or let them tell me who I am. Knowledge is very important to me and without it I wouldn’t be the person I am today.

I’ve never been one to follow the crowd. I deliberately won’t shop in designer shops like Superdry and Hollister because this is where the majority of people at my school shop. I want to be original and originality is another thing that is very important to me. I want to be the person that stands out and not blends in. What’s the point in being the same as everyone else?

I have gone off on a wild tangent here, but I suppose what I’m trying to say is that this is the chance to really embrace your inner geek and celebrate it. Times are changing and it’s not always a bad thing to show your superior knowledge now. 😉

What do you think? How do you show your geekiness?

Don’t forget to wear your geekery like a badge!