Dating, Dungeons and Dragons: Bringing Your Full Self Into a Relationship (Not Ready)

Dating can be really stressful. Except for the moments when it’s truly wonderful. At least, that’s been my experience. And everything I hear from friends, family, and even strangers on the internet suggests that’s a universal one. I’m not a certified dating expert, but I think the biggest challenge to starting a fulfilling relationship is finding the right person with the right amount of shared values, hobbies, and/or interests at the right time in your life. As a nerd, that can be especially daunting given that our hobbies can find us in the most obscure of niches. Especially when the goal is to bring your full self to the table and find someone who can respect your affinity for anime, comic books, TTRPGs, or whatever else you’re into, even if they don’t have those same exact interests. When I ended a previous relationship where my partner didn’t quite “get” my hobbies, one of my best friends summed it up perfectly by saying “You need a nice, nerdy bad*ss.” Finding a Nice, Nerdy Bad*ss It’s a bit embarrassing to admit, but I never considered that an option. I had always dated with the assumption that I’d have to keep downplay my nerdiness and relish in the moments I could embrace it in private. But when I started dating again, I tried something different. When I made yet another dating profile, I put my nerdiness front and center by referencing things like Harry Potter and the Marvel Cinematic Universe as sort of a litmus test. I figured that if any of those relatively mai…