Reembracing Adolescence

The picture at left was taken when I was in high school. It consisted of much of my reading material back in the day - Ian Fleming's James Bond Novels, Doctor Who Target novelizations, some Bantam Doc Savage novels, and Asimov's Foundation trilogy.

I say this because, well, today, I received my pass for C2E2, and I am completely stoked.

It's the first time in a long while that I've spent my own money on a comics convention (thanks to Chuck for getting me press passes to Wizard World). This, along with my work with the Chicago Nerd Social Club Comic Book Committee, and my upcoming high school reunion really has me reembracing my adolescence in a very positive way.

To say that I had a rough adolescence would be putting it mildly - a combination of slightly dysfunctional family dynamics, coupled by a crippling shyness and poor self-esteem, meant that I tended to feel isolated. Yes, I did have friends...but I felt alone. It's the old cliche of the fantasy worlds providing comfort to a lonely geek....

But in revisiting my interest in them, it's somehow felt very cleaning - a "corrective emotional response", I'm tempted to say in psychobabble. But as my geek life comes together in ways that I cannot imagine, despite whatever other issues I may have, I have learned at least one thing:

You're never too old to grow up.