A Revelation and A Resolution

I've figured it out!  Or... perhaps I have put something together that everyone already knew.  Regardless, I felt the need to share my discovery.  First allow me to take you on a magical journey through my thought process.

I was driving home from work this summer and contemplating the idea of "nerd" vs "geek".  In doing so, I was trying to dissect the various activities and interests that each stereotypically enjoys. What I found were not the differences but an overwhelming amount of similarities in the PURPOSE of these activities.

Let's name a few:
1. reading (normally in the realm of Science Fiction or Fantasy)
2. LARPing
3. card games (Pokemon, Magic, etc)
4. video games
5. strategy/story based board games
6. anything related to computers (from programming to blogging)
7. cosplay
9. TV shows that deal with the impossible things
10. comic books/manga

Okay... so that list can continue and feel free to add your own, but I have a point to make.  All of these activities center around one thing-- escaping.  The participator is being taken, through imagination/graphics, to another world for a small amount of time.  Granted, the participator knows they are safe and nothing in that world can ACTUALLY harm them, but he or she is willing to fully immerse his or her self anywhere from half an hour to several days.  Nerds and geeks are in a state of escapism.

Now we get to the question of why.  Why, when the actual senses can be tingled and tantalized by reality, would one wish to live in a fantasy world?   Coming from a nerd, let me tell you that it's easier.  Human interaction can be terrifying.  There's this little thing called "trust" that can get you in the back.  The real world offers disappointments and responsibilities.  Starting from the bullying in elementary school, to losing a job or not being able to pay the rent when entering adulthood.  And, to quote Amanda Palmer, "it's so depressing when people die in real life".  It is easier to leave reality for a world where everything is always interesting and, more importantly, not real.  As much as one can become attached to Dumbledore and cry at his death with simple sadness (sorry, was that still a spoiler?  Pfft!) it is easier to deal with that than to go through the complicated slew of emotions that come from losing a grandparent-- sadness, yes, but also guilt for not spending enough time with them, confusion as to why, possibly disgust at seeing a body, and then back to guilt.

Oops, I hit on serious... I swear this thing is writing itself.  Anyway, I'm not saying this is a good thing.  To escape from time to time is needed, and sometimes healthy.  Yet, I want to be able to look back on my life and tell a next generation of  what I accomplished, the people I met, the mistakes I made and what I learned from them.  I don't want to be prompted to tell them about my younger years and respond... "Well, I slew that dragon of...... I fell in love with The Doctor..... I ..... I... " things at all add up to I read, I watched TV, and I played games.