This one goes out to all you nerds that never stopped playing pokemon or never stopped obsessing over your favorite magical girl even thought you friends did.

Your friends on the other hand, moved on to other hobbies and interests but now the thing you use to bond over, is not those nerdy things anymore. Here’s how to proceed forward while keeping your friendship intact.

Open or closed-minded Friends

So there’s friends that stopped talking to you when you joined the anime club or the ones that have no idea you are still a nerd, but some friends are different.

Sometimes it’s curiosity that opens the mind and now they want to know how deep your rabbit hole is. But this doesn’t mean you throw them in the deep end!

Start with what you’ve discovered past childhood. Dig deep into why nerdiness is your passion. Most people can empathize with passion. (Keep in mind that some people can find passion intimidating.)

Intimidating Friends

This isn’t about intimidating your friends haha. It’s about friends that intimidate you.

Some friends love to boast about how “well off” they are or how well they’ve been doing. You can choose to talk about anything but your nerdiness in response, because that is your choice. But be proud to be part of this community. Be honest with yourself and your friends. If you’ve gotten a lot of attention on instagram from a cosplay or won a Smash competition, let them know. There’s nothing wrong about being proud of a goal accomplished or an amazing experience.

Your friends are free to grow their egos but you know who you are and be confident about that.

Know where the line is

Your childhood friends don’t actually have to know about the episode recounting of how Kirito got out of SAO.

But they can understand a hero who saved a bunch of innocent lives from a selfish, masochistic antagonist. The same plot arks, character types, controversial topics, theories, can be found in other movies, books, studies and so on. If you find material you can build a bridge.

Hope these quick tips help settle down those nerves for your next get together, leave your thoughts in the comments!

AishiteLOVEru,

Star