Musings

What Being a Geek Means to Me | Chandi Gilbert

January 13, 2020

I fought my geekiness tooth and nail throughout high school. Being a geek was a bad thing in the ’90s. In 2001 I got my first job in tech support, and I was surrounded by astonishingly geeky people…who actually loved the same things I loved. I discovered that it was possible to be soft and a hardcore geek at the same time. Not only was it possible, but it was accepted, encouraged, and I was loved even more for it. Instead of hiding my passions, and subduing my geek-speak, I found friends who understood my language. There was no longer a torturous incompatibility in my source code.

I have an insatiable curiosity for almost everything around me. My favorite pastime is researching a subject I find fascinating, from dogs to donuts. I’m loyal to things I love, regardless of how the rest of the world sees something. My preferred way to relax is by curling up with a good open-world RPG where I can stealth-kill villains and explode bad guys with grenades. Sometimes, I’m even the bad guy.

Being a geek means unironically throwing my dogs a dinner party. Being a geek means unapologetically spending an entire day slaying dragons. Being a geek means I get to be myself without excluding any other parts that make me who I am.

Chandi Gilbert

Chandi is entering her fourth year as a full-time content writer and has written for Contena, WellMe, and Ipnos, among many other notable companies. Her specialties include how-to guides, healthcare topics, and naturism. As a professional introvert, she discovers new ways to avoid phone calls every day. Working from home with her three dogs who pull double duty as her creative directors and heads of security is her favorite part of freelancing. In her other life, as a gamer, she’s saved and destroyed many worlds, died of tuberculosis at least once, and recently found out she’s a clone. You can find out more at ChandiGilbert.com.

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