I am a self-identified nerd. It is part of who I am, and honestly, I am very proud of it. Over the many years of being a nerd, I have come up with a definition that I think fits it very well: A nerd is someone who gets unabashedly excited about things they love. They make no effort to hide their excitement and are willing to show it off to the world regardless of people’s opinions. By this definition, anybody can be considered a nerd. I am nerd because of my love of "Doctor Who," YouTubers and even the Boston Red Sox. You may be a nerd for anime or science or even football. If you are willing to tell everyone what you love and share it with the world, then I think you are a nerd.

If anyone can be a nerd, though, then why is it such a negative term? In my opinion, being nerdy is not something to be ashamed of or something to hide, so why are people so quick to deny their nerdiness? I can give you one example to explain why. It’s something we see all over the place, on the internet, on the streets, probably in your own home: "Pokémon Go." The new Pokémon app has millions of users who are all incredibly passionate and enthusiastic about it. Personally, I enjoy playing and I love seeing people get excited about it, but many people feel differently. I see posts on Facebook like this all the time:

I understand that employers don’t want their employees playing on the job and that some people simply don’t enjoy the game. That is reasonable, but hating on other people by saying, “I am ashamed for the entire human race,” because they enjoy playing a game is the reason so many people are afraid to share their love for things. I have also heard people outside of the internet telling their friends they are ridiculous for loving Pokemon. Again, this is why so many people are afraid to be called a nerd.

Being nerdy about something can become part of who a person is and creates so much happiness in them, so being insulted because of it can be very hurtful. In my life, I have been made fun of for things that I love, and it took me a long time to become comfortable sharing those things again. I felt like I couldn’t express myself and I spent so many years hiding behind music and celebrities I didn’t really like. Because of those people, it took me years to figure out how much happier I was being a nerd. I hope that so many other people can understand this too, and that young people in particular will not have to be ashamed of the things they enjoy. For yourself and the people around you, I ask you to take one thing with you when you finish reading this article and go into the world. I ask you to be proud of the things you love, regardless of what people might think. I ask you to be a nerd.