On being (and becoming) a nerdfighter

Before writing this I asked myself: “Which one was the first vlogbrothers video I ever watched?” And I had to think about that for a while and, actually, I am still not sure – at least not when it comes to “Which one was the first vlogbrothers video I watched as a nerdfighter?”

I know that I watched the Obama Llama video somewhen in 2008, but I only realized that it was a vlogbrothers video a couple of months ago. I clearly remember laughing hard at Hank’s “x Jokes For Nerds in y minutes” and being astonished at his speaking speed.

It was probably the “How Nerdfighters Drop Insults” video that made me go through this channel and see what else was there. (It is still one of my favourite videos.)

I liked what I saw, obviously. It had everything I was fond of. Nerdy things, books, Shakespeare and stuff about politics and history. I soon became a regular viewer and made my ways through the important videos playlist. My first nerdfighter video has to be somewhere in that mix.

I always identified as a nerd, so becoming a nerdfighter was definitely not a big step to take. However, I was never an “active” nerdfighter. It was only after I met a couple of nerdfighters in my town that I thought about actually becoming involved. The first really nerdfighter-y thing I did was probably going on a very unsuccessful TFiOS hunt. I did not find one single copy, alas signatures. All of that lead to joining the new YourPants, this nice little blog collaboration and hopefully a nerdfighter gathering in the future.

At this point in time I greatly enjoy sneaking in nerdfighter references everywhere. My most successful attempts actually happen at university. I took a couple of media classes this semester for the education portion of my studies. In one class we had to create an online portfolio and add articles about educational things on the internet. Sometime the teacher would show a portfolio to the whole class. So, one day when I was late, I was greeted by John Green explaining Crash Course as I stepped through the door. I was very proud.

Nerdfighteria has kind of been my gateway to YouTube in general. Not that long ago I thought it was only about cat videos and watching TV series. That perception has certainly changed and I am very glad about that – even though there are certain hardships watching YouTube from Germany.

And finally, in honor of this blog entry I hid a couple of nerdfighter notes in German John Green books today.

P.S.: I fully intend to explain the very confusing German education system to you - once my exams are over. Believe me, it’s very confusing.