In the aftermath of the release of Superman (2025), a phrase began to pop up over and over and over on social media, taking my Instagram FYP by storm. For many, “you need to nerd out” may have just been another trending audio – but for just four words, the line packs a powerful message that may not be immediately apparent.
The trend started as an expression of love for superheroes, primarily related to the DC comics characters featured in James Gunn’s interpretation of one of the most famous heroes of all time, but it rapidly expanded into a variety of fandom spaces. The simple sentence encourages passion, excitement, and community in a way that’s been lacking from the modern world, particularly since the global COVID-19 pandemic removed so many opportunities for connection.
My absolute favorite moments are the shared excitement of talking to someone else who’s interested in or knowledgeable about a particular topic – watching people open up about something they’re genuinely passionate about is one of the most joyful and stunning experiences you can share with them. Despite the stereotype of nerds in popular culture (often derogatory, characterized by unattractiveness, grating overenthusiasm, and a supreme lack of social skills), some of the most fun and engaging interactions I’ve had throughout my college experience and my whole life have centered around my own “nerdy” interests: reading, Star Wars, videogames, Pokémon, superheroes, musical theatre… the list goes on, and on, and on.
Some of these passions have followed me practically since birth – I was raised on Star Wars and Harry Potter, and those still play a huge part in my connections with my grandparents and family – and others are much newer. When I started playing Pokémon GO! right before my freshman year of college, I had no idea that I’d be taking a class about videogames and culture, writing whole essays on the topic, or making a discord server (on a whim) to bring together people on campus who I never knew played the game! Beyond that, my love of reading has led me to what may eventually become a career path, working and interning at the Tredway Library and forging connections with students and staff over a mutual desire to learn.
Of course, you don’t need to share the same interests to make meaningful connections with people. I’ve listened to friends explain physics projects and basketball simulations and admired Studio Ghibli tattoos (even though I’ve only seen Princess Mononoke), and they’ve dutifully sat through my How to Train Your Dragon rewatches and driven me to the public library for the next book in a series, and it’s the patience and willingness to listen and learn and try something new that connects you – even if I’ll never really want to play Five Nights at Freddy’s, and they’ll never really want to read whatever romantasy book I’ve picked up that week.