Last night was an English major nerd milestone for me.
In High School my nerd-factor was way up there seeing as I was the girl who ALWAYS had a book in her bag. If I finished a test early I’d whip out a book. Waiting for the bus, whip out a book. Feeling insecure in a social situation, whip out a book. I’m surprised boys didn’t fight over me. A girl with her nose buried in a book 70% of the day, come on, it just screams SEX.
In college I upped the anti by becoming an English major. By that time though I was surrounded by other book nerds, so the stigma has sluffed off a bit. I was in my element finally, sitting around in a room with other lovers of the written word. Together we considered it a productive class if we’d fully dissected plot lines, character development and author motivations in a single hour. Obviously we were the EXPERTS on this particular book, and knew EVERYTHING the author had hoped to convey in their work. We not only knew what the author was trying to achieve with their book, but we also knew how WE could have done it better. Not pretentious in the least bit.
Then last night I hit a milestone in English-nerdom. I went to my first book club meeting! Most of you will roll your eyes at me, but it was everything I expected and more. A group of women who come together once a month to eat food, drink wine, and talk about a book they all made time in their crazy lives to sit down and read. Half the time conversation flows around the book, and the other half you find yourself off on random tangents such as the beauty of Johnny Dep’s face. Seriously why is that man so pretty?
I walked into book group timid, nervous about being accepted into a group of women who have been meeting, sharing, and experiencing together every month for the past FIVE years. When I left the group a few hours later I felt like I was one giant step closer to feeling like I truly belong in this new city of mine. The girl who first moved to Olympia spent her unemployed days alone, wondering if she’s made the right decision to throw it all away and take a chance in this new city. Yet even if I never attend again (which of course I wouldn't do), it makes me feel safe to have found people like me amongst this large city of strangers.
It feels good to be home.
Comments