Cosplayers are excellent examples of geeks

Is there something you really, really like? Or maybe even something you’re obsessed with? Maybe a TV show(FRIENDS, anybody?), anime, a sport, cars or anything else under the sun? If you said yes, congratulations, you’re a geek! You might say, “No wait, I’m not a nerd, I’m cool!”. Well, maybe you are, maybe you aren’t (who am I to judge?), but that’s not what I said anyway. I said you’re a geek, not a nerd.

Aren’t they the same?

Nope. A nerd is someone who’s focused on intellectual achievement. A geek is just super enthusiastic about a hobby. It could be a hobby like math, or it could be something like sports or cars. When the words were first used, they pretty much meant the same thing — someone who’s socially awkward and smart. Now, it’s evolved into something more, with more and more people embracing their inner geek and geek culture gaining real popularity, because people realize it’s actually really fun to “geek out” over something with friends who are into it as well!

Magic: The Gathering is a card game that can get… expensive as a hobby

So what’s Geek Pride Day?

It’s a day of celebration for geeks worldwide, a day to show off your inner geek! It is observed on 25th May, which was chosen because it was the date of release of the first Star Wars movie: A New Hope. Solo: A Star Wars Story is coming out on the same day this year too, so you can enjoy a nice movie in keeping with the original spirit of the day!

May 25th is also Towel Day, in honour of Douglas Adams, the author of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series. Held 2 weeks after the anniversary of his passing, people carry around their trusty towel, which according to his books,“ is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have”. It also happens to coincide with the The Glorious 25th of May, which is a day of significance to readers of the Discworld series.

How do I celebrate it?

Geek Pride Day is celebrated worldwide with people acknowledging their geekiness and spreading it to other people.

Geeks sometimes feel alienated from their peers because their hobbies might be slightly different from the hobbies of people around them. That can be easily remedied, with the help of the Internet.

Whatever you’re interested in, I can almost guarantee that a community exists for people who are into the same topic. There are forums for everything — cars, sports, video games, TV shows— if you can name it, you can find a forum for people who like it. If you’re obsessed with anime like I am, there’s literally millions of people on the internet who share the same interest and would like to tell you that your taste in shows is bad! (Yes, I’m speaking from experience…)

I WATCH IT BECAUSE IT'S FUNNY SCREW YOU

It’s not just a few people around the globe that celebrate it. Even huge companies like Intel and Google get in on the festivities, with tweets every year to celebrate the day, like this one.

What if I don’t like online forums though?

Then you can do something simple, like watching your favourite Harry Potter movie again. Maybe you can marathon your favourite season of that TV show you like. I’m probably going to spend mine trying to figure out how to play Dungeons and Dragons with friends! I’ve wanted to play it ever since I realized it existed after watching an episode of Community (great TV show to binge-watch, by the way), so i’ll be trying to get a group of friends together and play it through a website(www.roll20.net, if you’re interested). It doesn’t have to be anything hard, just a simple celebration of your own geekiness!

So on this day, proudly flaunt what you like!

Tell people about the intricate rules of that sport. Explain to them how that one car is different from the rest, and why it matters. Show them that anime or game that gives you chills. Convince people that Dungeons and Dragons is really really fun to play. Try and explain that the ₹5000 that you spent on Magic: The Gathering cards (assuming you’re a beginner... there are cards worth $50,000 for that game!) was worth it. Explain how mind-blowingly awesome it (or whatever you like!) is. Maybe you can even convert somebody to our side!