A Geek Girl’s Dirty Laundry

One of my fondest memories was from Christmas when I was around three or four years-old. My family had returned from celebrating the holiday with my grandparents, and this girl was pretty golden at that point. I had just received a Jem and Video doll from Jem and The Holograms. As far as I was concerned, I was good, because the Jem doll alone was pretty fantastic. When we got to open the remaining gifts that were left home, my holiday became epic in my little eyes, because my parents practically bought out the She-Ra toys at local Big Lots. Not only did I get She-Ra, herself, but I got her steed, Swift Wind.

Apart of me believes that my parents decided to get me my own supply of the toys, because they were probably tired of me always wanting to go over to the neighbor’s house. Who could blame me, they literally had every He-Man and She-Ra toy ever made along with accessories. It was heaven, and that Christmas was a super treat because of that.

That holiday was one of my earliest memories of my extreme “geekdom.” Throughout this blog I’ll share more of these little gems from my life and showcase some of the stuff I love and come across. Whether it’s music, television, movies, or books, all is fair game. This post is a little snapshot into my life growing up and how it all started.

Whenever I watched a show, any corresponding toy would be right there next to me. My She-Ra toys would be lined up in battle against my Catra doll and her flying Steed as Adora and the rebels took on Hordak on the screen. Jem would be poised and ready to belt out a “Truly Outrageous” at a moment’s notice. Movies were not saved from this ritual either. I would always lovingly cuddle my Lady toy when curled up on couch watching Lady and The Tramp.

Growing up, I may have picked up a few more fascinations along the way. There was all Disney in general, which isn’t exactly unusual for any kid. I tended to lean towards the princess stories as most girls my age. I have my favorite princess, Aurora from Sleeping Beauty. What’s not to envy about a girl who got to sleep through the hard parts only to wake up with a man and a kingdom. That’s pretty awesome. Granted, it could have gone very south for her if Merryweather hadn’t flipped the death spell, but that’s just being picky. I also fully believe that Maleficent is one of the scariest things that Disney ever created.

I just loved these little stories that played out in front of me on the television. My imagination was voracious as a youngster and these little worlds were to just the trick to feed it. My geeky side was very present and thriving during this time. I did have comic books as well. I snuck away with my brother’s X-Men comics regularly, which lead to quality time with my brother over the animated series in the early 90’s. I had a massive Barbie comic book collection. Yes, she had a comic series. I even had a Muppet Babies comic that am very sad I no longer have. I loved Batman. Saw all of the movies in the theaters, but never read the comics. I would watch the old Adam West series in reruns and loved the animated series. I was even Batman for Halloween in Kindergarten. I remember getting annoyed when people would ask me if I was Batgirl. This girl was true to her hero. I was independent even then.

When junior high hit, I was presented with a show that would ultimately change my life. During this time UPN was a relatively new network trying to build viewership. One of there shows didn’t do so well and was cancelled midseason. The network began to advertise a midseason replacement, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I am not afraid to admit that I loved the movie and still do, so I really looked forward to this show starting. When UPN introduced shows back then, they would do so by airing a two hour movie. It was more like the first two episodes back to back, but no one’s judging. The problem was I had a bedtime of 9:00 PM. The show was premiering from 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM. Dilemma? Not for me, because I was a rebel. I did stay up and watched the whole show, and I did get busted and grounded for it. So worth it, until the following week, when I was forbidden from watching it, part of the grounding terms.

This one little show would turn into a relationship that I am still seeing on the side to this day. I very much read the comic series. More than just entertainment, it guided me into a career choice at just fifteen. At that time I had decided I wanted to be a writer and was leaning towards journalism. A stunt ran by a local news station completely turned me off to that idea. Columbine had just happened, and Indiana was to host a Marilyn Manson concert. Reporters were sent to interview the waiting fans about the recent tragedy. That was all good and well until the reporter made his closing statement to the camera. He proceeded to state that the fans around him were the same type of people as the shooters were, condemning them nonchalantly as sociopathic murderers due to their music choice. I am not a fan of Marilyn Manson personally, but I do enjoy and own a few of his songs. Since I don’t ever feel like killing people or even sometimes based on this logic, this was an extremely unfair and all-around cheap shot to get ratings off the tragedy by the news station. That was the moment that I knew I really didn’t want to be that type of journalist. To be forced to write anything that I didn’t fully back myself and could potentially hurt someone purely for ratings was something I just could not do.

I still wanted to write, so while watching an episode of Buffy, I realized I wanted to create something with my writing, something that would bring someone the same joy and entertainment that Buffy and all of the other shows I have watched growing up made me feel. This dream is still a work in progress, and I have made responsibilities more important for the time being. It is still there, and I will do what I can to make it happen if at least not try. This blog is going to be one of many baby steps to get myself back in the game.

These are the events that have shaped my nerd tendencies and guided me through new doors that I continue to open today. I still read comics, enjoy my television shows, and have a whole new obsession with movies in general. I may like looking stylish, but most know I am not embarrassed to rock my Marvel T-shirts. I still have some of my She-Ra toys from when I was kid. I have large Sleeping Beauty Christmas ornament collection. My Buffy the Vampire Slayer calendars may have been traded for Supernatural ones, one of my current obsessions. All of these make me who I am. Hopefully you too can find this blog as a safe place to let your inner geek out to play and, if nothing else, a little entertainment.

Let me know what you love?