Nerds of a Feather

Nerds of a feather, flock together. That saying rings true everywhere, but I’ve found it runs like a river through Austin. Everywhere I’ve lived, I’ve found like-minded nerds to hang with whether everyone is hanging out playing games, arguing the finer points of Star Wars or Lord of the Rings, or gazing at stars composing poetry. While these nerdy cool folks exist everywhere, it wasn’t until I came to Austin that I felt like one of the cool kids.

Everyone in Austin enjoys being nerdy. (Probably not the politicians, but they’re only in town on business.) And everyone in Austin is welcoming of everyone’s unique inner nerd. It’s so much fun. Yes, I hang out with a bunch of writers, and we each have different passions, but we’re okay with each other’s passions. There have been times we have to break apart discussions that get heated about whether it was right or wrong to animate Grand Moff Tarkin, but we all enjoy having different opinions. We realize it makes each of us unique, and we always celebrate uniqueness.

Sometimes I wonder if my current peer group stands alone in Austin, but then I walk into other meetings of Austin writers, artists, and gamers, and I realize we’re not. That alone tells me I’m living in the right place.