i consider myself a nerd. i think of myself as a smart girl and i like nerdy or dorkie things. i grew up watching star trek and star wars with my parents. ive seen most of the comic book movies and genuinely liked them. the problem i have is with the stereotype that all nerds love to read. they would rather read than watch tv and they prefer the book more than the movie adaptation. and the idea that if you like reading then you're smart and if you don't then you must be dumb, really pisses me off.
i think i have proved that i am a smart woman (although, at the age of 29 i still feel awkward calling myself a woman, but i guess i'll get used to it). but i have graduated undergrad summa cum laude and have gotten into the country's best doctor of physical therapy program. and i, for the most part, hate reading. you probably would too if you had ADHD, a reading disorder, and were far sighted. reading was the last thing i was born to do.
i have always hated reading. when i was little i couldn't stand sitting still for more than a few minutes to read something. i wanted to go dance and play on the swings. reading sounded so boring. and then i was a slow reader. it was so frustrating. i would complain to my parents and they would say that i would get faster with time and that i just had to be patient. and although i did get a little faster, i still wasn't nearly as fast as my mom and brother. i would take forever to read books. it was annoying to take so long to read something, made me not want to do it in the first place.
there were a few books over the years that i didn't mind reading, like Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, mostly because they were funny. it made it worth spending that time. but it's frustrating when it takes so long to finish a book that you forget important info told at the beginning. i found i preferred short stories because i could finish them before i forgot parts. i feel that sense of accomplishment within a couple days instead of months. i'd much rather read a short funny story by Woody Allen than a long, boring, depressing novel that is considered "classic" according to people who have no sense of humor.
my senior year of high school was a stressful time. lots to do and lots of personal crap to deal with. my english teacher made us read books on our own time and keep a journal about our thoughts on the books, which he would read regularly. i took my parent's suggestion and tried reading The Hobbit. it was annoying from the start. all these long sentences describing all this scenery which i couldn't imagine and got frustrated trying to keep track of. and then the story was so stressful. it was one near-death situation after another. after a couple months of trying to get through this book i was fed up. i had written in my journal that i couldn't handle the extra stress reading a book like that added to my life. when i read a book i live with the emotions of that book for as long as it takes to finish it. and two months of that stress was all i could handle. it made me not want to read anything at all. my teacher quickly suggested i try a different book instead.
i went to my mom and asked if she knew any really calm books that could do more help than harm during my stressful year. she suggested a book called Medicine Woman by Lynn Andrews. and it did help. it was calm and spiritual. it was funny at times and had a lovely woman's voice giving insights and perspectives on life that i greatly appreciated at that time. it was what i needed and i was glad to spend however many months it took me to finish it. i realized that i wasn't the sort of person who could read stressful or depressing books because living with those emotions for the 2-4 months it took me to finish the book would ruin my mood during that time. from then on i decided that if i was going to read a book for fun it was going to be a funny one.
i still didn't like reading for enjoyment much. i don't like sitting and reading and slowly getting a headache when i could be out doing something or watching a tv show. when i watch tv i can get up and do things while i watch it if i want. i can exercise during it. i can clean during it. i can even do homework during it. and if i really am tired i can just sit still and rest. i can let my eyes be entertained while my mind enjoys interesting stories and funny jokes.
now that i'm in grad school i have no desire to read anything i don't have to. my mind is pushed everyday learning new things. i'm tired everyday when i get home from school. it's stressful having all this pressure on you're shoulders and exhausting sitting in class for 6 to 8 hours a day. when i get home the first thing i do is turn on the tv. i often don't care what i watch, as long as i get to escape for awhile. i need to think about anything else but school. tv is great for that. free or cheap entertainment at your fingertips. so this idea that smart people read and dumb people watch tv is ridiculous. even if you ignore the fact that there are plenty of very intelligent programs on tv where you can learn new things or be updated on important world news, everyone deserves an escape. and that's all tv is. a story to get your mind off your own life's troubles. even smart people have troubles they need to escape from. they might even have more than the ordinary joe.
so i watch sitcoms and dance competition shows. i enjoy comedy and dance. that doesn't make me any less smart than someone who doesn't own a tv. and reading a book doesn't make you incredibly intelligent. liking the "classics" doesn't make your taste any better than anyone else's. it doesn't make you any more interesting than someone who enjoy tv. yes, i occasionally watch Keeping Up With The Kardashians. i also love watching live dance performances, going to art museums, and seeing funky indie movies at art houses like The Leammle.
i'm a proud nerd. i even bought a nerd shirt from the website www.thenerdmachine.com, which was started by Zachary Levi who was in the tv show Chuck where he played a nerd turned spy. and yes i have a crush on him. any proud nerd woman or girl with good taste in men would. and the fact that i don't like reading doesn't make me any less of a nerd or any less intelligent.
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