Nerd Lessons: I want to be Like Superman

We love our fandoms. For those on the outside looking in, it may be their impulse to discount our devotion as superficial or childish. That’s because they don’t understand or see how nerdom has effected us. At BNP, we know that comics and movies and anime and cosplay does so much more than entertain us, it shapes us; we learn what kind of people we want to be—and who exactly we are fighting against becoming. We sent out that bat signal, we sent out notice for an open call for submissions on what nerd lessons you learned and y’all answered the call. The Author of This Piece and Teacher for This Nerd Lesson : Aurelius Raines II @aureliusraines2 When I was in elementary school, I had to get a new jacket every spring. It was usually a nylon windbreaker. Just enough to keep the chill out. So whenever we went shopping for my jacket, I tried to make sure that the jacket I got was some shade of red. This was important. My mom didn’t know why. She knew I was artistically inclined but I was never overly particular about the color of my clothes. What my mother did not know was that, when I got to school, and the recess bell rang, I would grab my jacket and run behind the fieldhouse at Hiram Belding Elementary school. And when no one was looking, I would take off the jacket, tie the sleeves around my neck, and become Superman! With my arms in front of me, I would fly around the playground. Landing on benches. Saving everybody from everything. Standing on the merry-go-round, my arms akimb…