Keeping Up with the Geeks

8:28 pm HelenLJohnson 0 Comments

Beamly

This weekend I have been to the cinema with the con crew to watch Thor: Ragnarok; a usual trip that happens a few times a year to watch the latest Marvel or DC offering. I have joked to my Dad (who has bought pretty much all the MCU films, but has yet to watch one) that keeping up with these films is a full time job in itself. I want to put this on my CV, I have kept up to date with the MCU.

But then there are all the TV series.

And the comics.

And then there is the new Netflix series that has just come out, the entire series released at once of course.

Oh and that new game is coming out next week.

You have two cosplays over there that need finishing.

And your favourite streamer is just about to start a stream.

I surely can't be the only person who feels overwhelmed by the sheer amount of geeky opportunities available to us in the modern day. Not a week goes by without something new coming out, or there is a recommendation for something. The problem with liking 'geeky' things, and I am using this term very loosely to describe items of interest, is that they often cross mediums and they often lead on to similar items of interest. Like many people, the Marvel films made me want to check out the comics and while I am certainly not what many would consider an avid reader, I do pick and choose volumes that I either buy or rent from my local library. I would have never have found out about Saga or Fables if I hadn't already been drawn to comics via the Thor films and Tomb Raider games.

However, as you can see here, one thing leads on to the next. As I am also interested in cosplay, sometimes I play a game and decide I want to make a costume from it. Therefore, I then need to balance the time between making a costume, playing the game and then keeping up with everything else. Lately, I have noticed that it is just so overwhelming keeping up with everything geeky that I end up not enjoying what is out there. It is hard to draw a line on interests and hobbies when they bleed and overlap into so many things. Geeky conversations have become those 'water cooler' moments and you don't want to see spoilers. So it becomes a rat race of consumption at an alarming rate.

This weekend I also realised that I have neglected other interests because I have been trying to keep up. I love reading, but I barely read these days unless it is for my PhD; so on Saturday I sat and read a full novella and it was wonderful. It wasn't a tie in book to a series and it is classified as classic literature exploring sexuality. Yet, even here I feel pressure when I go on YouTube and see all the booktubers and their rate of reading completing their Goodreads lists.

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Everything just seems so competitive now. How many costumes you have made, how many series you have watched, how many episodes you can binge watch etc. I am slowly stepping away from it all. Of course, I will still do all that I enjoy, but I am trying not to put pressure on myself because it looks as though I am not keeping up with the rest of the geeky community. Those booktubers get through so many books because that is their main hobby; I can't even say what my main hobby is because I tend to dip my toe into multiple pools! So that Aloy cosplay that isn't finished yet? That's okay! I haven't even finished the game yet. And you know what, that is also okay.

So if you have reached this point of the mind vomit, well done! Perhaps you feel the same way I do! If you do, the best advice I can say is step back and take a break. It did me wonders. Right now I am trying to ration 'geeky' things and intermingle them with other things that I enjoy. I am trying to be more picky with things such as TV series so I get to spend the time with activities that I enjoy more such as watching films, YouTube and making costumes. I also have all these grandiose ideas that I want to start making YouTube videos, take up photography and try out burlesque from a performing side. I hardly have enough time as it is, so something has to give.

When I have tried a few things out, I'll probably write a more coherent article; until then I just wanted to project my feeling of trying to keep up with this community, hell multiple communities and fandoms, when really what we all should probably do is take a step back and take a long hard look at what we are spending our precious time on.

So if you have any tips, please post them below or tweet me @Lady_Scion

Until next time, look after yourselves and enjoy your hobbies. If something becomes an effort, just change it up. It is okay, in the grand scheme of things you are probably not missing much.