The Geeks Shall Inherit The Earth: An Observation On The Evolution Of Nerd Culture

It’s amazing how much of our youth/young adult years are dedicated to forming the identities that we will carry with us through the rest of our lives. Throughout the years we put together pieces of our identities like a puzzle, (an interest here, an interest there) until the final product looks like something we can be proud of. Now consider this my nerd origin story if you will, but I distinctly remember my first foray into nerd culture. I would visit my aunts house often and whenever I came to visit my cousin would break out her NES and Sega Genesis for me to pass the time until it I had to head home. Now I didn’t know it then, but those hours lying on my cousins floor zooming through Sonic The Hedgehog 2 would awaken something in me. Now I did not inherit any of my geek tendencies from my parents the same way others did. My father was out of the picture and my mother was busy trying to better herself for her family that she couldn’t afford to take out the time to fully understand my interests. All she knew was that a hyperactive 4 year old and video games didn’t mix, so at the time I couldn’t have a console of my own. Needless to say I cherished the hell out of those regular visits to my Aunt’s house. When I got a bit older and in school my mom agreed to buy me a system with the stipulations that I didn’t let it affect my schoolwork. While most kids where being gifted with Sega Genesis or the newly released N64 (Nintendo is still the apex of my nerd world) my mom bought me…