Confession: I am a Nerd

For years I have lived in denial of an important fact, I am a nerd.  I am not sure what I thought I was before realizing I was a nerd, but I think it is time to come clean.  It is possible that I am the last person to realize this as I believe that sometimes others see things in us long before we see them in ourselves.

Here is a breakdown of some of the criteria I have mentally sorted through in making this powerful conclusion (I am sure people who know me well could add items to both sides of this argument):

• I like playing and watching sports, a lot - Not a Nerd
• I like sports statistics, a lot - Nerd
• I like listening to sports talk radio - Nerd
• I like Star Wars, Star Trek, and almost anything else with "star" in the title - Nerd
• I like reading books about research on the human experience - Nerd
• I watch the Sunday morning political talk shows most weeks - Nerd
• I can connect with any person on just about any topic - Not a Nerd
• I have a healthy sense of adventure - Not a Nerd
• I love watching and learning from Ted Talks - Nerd
• I enjoy reality television, especially Survivor, Storage Wars, the Deadliest Catch, and Whale Wars - Nerd
• I have very good hand eye coordination - Not a Nerd
• I love both learning and sharing obscure facts - Nerd
• I am really good at making just about anyone laugh regardless of their mood - Not a Nerd
• I really enjoy reading biographies and historic non-fiction - Nerd
• I get excited about new technology - Nerd
• I have rhythm - Not a Nerd
• I listen to sports podcasts - Nerd
• I love research and statistics about just about everything - Nerd
• I can be the life of just about any party - Not a Nerd
• I can get places using my words that I cannot get with my mind - Not a Nerd
• I dreamed of starting a blog and finally did it - Super Nerd
• I could not help adding this next sentence - Nerd 

Some of what is above no doubt is rooted in gender norms/stereotypes, cultural bias, and other problematic thinking.  I do not think anything described above is a problem for me or others, but I am pretty sure it places me into the cultural category of being a nerd.  Besides, only a nerd would take the time sitting on a plane to make this list, post it on the internet, and then ask people to read it.