Intro

I have been called a geek, a dork, or a nerd my entire life. When I was younger I used to think it was something to hide and be ashamed of, although that all changed when I started college.

I spent the majority of my first semester holed up in the library so focused on my studies that I barely talked to anyone. I had isolated myself in the safety of the only thing that I could trust (my books). When I wasn’t studying I was reading or re-watching my favorite movies and TV shows. At the time I was obsessed with Firefly and Star Wars.

To this day I am still obsessed with the Star Wars movies and the TV show Firefly I am not ashamed to admit that I cried for days when Firefly was cancelled. Although back to my freshman year, I quickly became acquainted with the library staff and I was on a first name basis with most of them. I had this one corner of the ground floor by the entrance that I adored. It was quiet enough where I could get my studies done but still involved enough that I was a complete isolationist.

What changed my college experience forever was when I met my best friend Julie. I had walked into the cafeteria in one of the buildings to buy lunch because I had a 2 hour break between classes. I was searching for a place to sit when I saw a room right off the cafeteria with ample seating and people were talking and laughing. I carried my lunch into the room and settled down at a corner table by myself to eat and study in peace. Although that all was disrupted when a girl came over and asked if she could sit with me. I muttered a quick “Sure” and didn’t acknowledge her after that. But by some weird chance I was sitting with a talker. She introduced herself as Julie and I muttered “I’m Stephanie” back at her. She told me it was nice to meet me and that this was the Nerd Room. At those two words I looked up and smiled and realized this is where I truly belonged.

Over the course of the next few months I discovered more about myself than I ever thought was possible. I discovered that I should be proud of who I am and my passions and there was nothing that could change that and no one could change how much I appreciated my fandoms.

For those of you who don’t know when you try to define a fandom it is defined as a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of sympathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Which is a direct definition from its Wikipedia page. Fandoms span from the Harry Potter fandom comprised of millions of individuals to as vague as the MLP (My Little Pony): Friendship is Magic fandom which has created the phenomenon known as “Bronies” (adult male watchers obsessed with MLP).

No matter what fandom you are a part of the important thing to remember is that as long as it is important to you that is all that matters. No one should ever have to feel ashamed for liking something, and it is doesn’t matter if it is the norm or not. Everyone has something they enjoy and everyone expresses the way they enjoy it in different ways.

The point of this blog is to explain some of my favorite fandoms, and the different parts that make up fandoms. Also hoping to express how important all these fandoms are to the people who are a part of them.