Embrace It

      July 13th (today) is Embrace your Geekness Day!  I discovered this a few days ago on the Wednesday Perk-Up (a great resource) over at one of my very favorite blogs, the Coexist Cafe.  A Vegetarian Pagan and a Jewish Omnivore making it work, what’s not to love?

      Anyway, as soon as I saw that today was Geekness Day (on Friday the 13th, no less!), I shifted gears from the other 4 posts I’ve been working on.  I want to take advantage of Geekness day to make a very important point when it comes to sustainable lifestyles, green living, Ethical Eating – really any lifestyle you want to strive for.  That point is this:  You have to make it work for you.  Adopting someone else’s lifestyle will almost never work for you.  Look at who you are and make it work for you.

      I have a lot of Geekness to embrace.  I don’t call myself a Geek.  I think it’s an overpopularized and overused term.  It’s lost its meaning.  To me, it’s starting to turn into a Hipster trend, like the new Emo or Goth.  (Though I do like “geek” stuff a lot more).  I’m more of a dork.  I have always been a dork.  It’s hereditary (thanks, Dad).

      I’ve actually seen a lot of internet debate over the last year or so about the difference between Geeks and Nerds (really? Who has time to debate that? – oh, right, geeks and nerds, ;-P).  And since I have a whole lot of traits of both, but also lack a lot of traits of both, I’ve decided that I fall squarely into my very own “Dork” category.

How I am like a geek/nerd:

• I love learning and school and random science.  This is one thing I see sadly missing from Geek culture and “Nerd” culture to a degree.  I love science.  I laugh my butt off at Chemistry Cat, science jokes, anything Schrödinger related, and grammar humor.  I devour books and articles about an amazingly broad range of topics – from insects to history to forensics to quantum physics – that most people would find boring or random as heck. 
  
• I think smart is sexy.  Have you met my husband?

  

• I have a blog.
• I watch the most ridiculous things on TV*.  My favorite show of all time is The X-Files; I’m still completely addicted to Xena, Dr. Who, and In Search of… With Leonard Nemoy.  I can fit a Friends reference into damn near any conversation.  The only show that is currently on the air that I watch is Bones.  I still watch reruns of Daria, SeaQuest DSV, and MacGyver.  Though, I guess I shouldn’t call Netflix “reruns.”
• Given the choice, 8 times out of 10 I’ll choose to watch a documentary.
• I devour books, and with my recent audio book discovery have been downing them at the rapid rate again.  I am completely in love with Douglas Adams, JRR Tolkien, and the Harry Potter books.
• I have a – unique – sense of style at times.
• Sometimes I am socially awkward (oddly, at other times I am the exact opposite).
• I fear neither multisyllabic words, jargon, or obscure references.
• I haven’t the least bit of shame about openly embracing all my less-than-mainstream obsessions.
• The music I listen to is random to say the very least.  Classical to pop, country to alt metal.  I have a CD featuring both Marilyn Manson and “Go, Ninja” by Vanilla Ice. 
• I have many obsessions, from the above ref’d books and shows to trees and owls, to random obscure items from the past.
• I am the grammar police.

How I am not like a geek/nerd:

• I’ve never watched a whole episode of The Big Bang Theory (though that is largely because I’ve never had the time).
• I have never enjoyedStar Trek, despite my obsession with Leonard Nemoy.
• I know little to nothing about computers past 1998.
• Though I call myself a dork and enjoy geek/nerd stuff, I’m not big on the whole label thing.
• Sometimes I can be very socially adept and skilled at public speaking.
• I like a whole bunch of mainstream stuff – clothes, music, topics – stuff.
• While I do not fear multisyllabic words, jargon, etc., I try not to overuse them, especially in order to differentiate myself from others.
• I have many obsessions, but none of them is all consuming (except maybe Ethical Eating?).

       I’m sure there are many more, but my dorkiness is not supposed to be the focus of this post.  For plentiful proof of my dorkiness, please don’t hesitate to check out my Pinterest boards and my Instagram (at right).

      The point is, I’m a dork.  And I use my dorky trait in my lifestyle changes.  One thing that really motivates me is researching.  I can convince myself to do darn near anything if I can find enough research to back up the decision (and less substantial research opposed to the decision).  So when I decided to eat more ethically, I started mainlining research on all related topics, and the changes just flowed, slowly but steadily.  The more I found out, the more I changed.  Much of the change was almost effortless because I was so confident in all the source materials I’ve found.

      That might not be the method that works for you.  Maybe documentaries are more your speed.  Or personal testimonies (if so, you’ve come to the right place!).  Perhaps infographics and sites like Pinterest can be your inspiration.  It’s all about knowing what works for you.  And if you don’t know, try it all!  Because you’ll never stick with something long enough for it to stick with you if it doesn’t fit with your personality in some way (even if the change you’re making is a change in your personality).

      I love social networking and debate, so I’ve done tons of both of those things about various and sundry Ethical Eating, Sustainable Living, and Green Lifestyle topics.  Maybe someone else might rather use a personal journal or group they can meet with (I’m working on starting one of those!).

      I have found ways to promote Ethical Eating and sustainable living through my personal style and amusements.  I started finding tons of adorable clothing and accessory items that fit with my beliefs.  I love reading magazines, so I found ones on these topics (printed on recycled paper with vegetable inks).

      Family time, especially family dinners, is very important to me, so I worked the changes throughout every aspect of that, as I’m sure is very apparent from my recipes and instagram.

      It sounds obvious.  It sounds easy.  It is.

       People (including me), always say, “it takes some getting used to,” or “it was hard at first, but now it’s second nature!”

       This is because human beings don’t like change.  Or, more accurately in my opinion, human beings like things they are used to (which is why you should always try something new 15 times in close succession before deciding you don’t like it – it takes an average of 14 times to become “accustomed” to something).  So if you can make your changes as close to things you’re already used to, they will be easier.

       For some things, that’s easier said than done.  I know.  Giving up meat can be made easier by replacing it with foods you’re used to and love (or, if you’re used to and love experimenting, then by new things!), but it’s still going to be a big change because meat is everywhere and it’s what you’re used to thinking of when thinking of a meal.  For me, research bridged that gap because when I thought of meat, I would then think of all the horrifying things I had found out about meat and the meat industry.

      I believe the biggest, most lasting changes come from small steps.  And I believe that those small steps are more likely to stick around when they fit with our personalities. 

*  I always feel the need to make disclaimers, and here is my disclaimer for this post:  I love TV.  Love it.  But I also hate it.  It’s bad for you.  It’s especially bad for children.  For as much as I talk about TV, I actually watch very little of it, and our kids watch even less.  We got rid of our TV eons ago and now only watch things on the projector screen in our livingroom a couple times a week (which is where the recent Tweets about Daria and Dr. Who come from).  In the evenings or when I’m home alone, I watch TV while I’m folding laundry and often listen to TV while I’m cooking or cleaning.  But honestly, I watch very little.  Maybe 3 hours a week.  Max.