What Is a Geek? by Zoe Marriott

Zoe Marriott is the author of The Swan Kingdom and Daughter of the Flames. The Swan Kingdom has been short-listed for the Lincolnshire Young People's Book Award and nominated for the 2008 Cybil Award in the Young Adult SF category. Daughter of the Flames came out in the US last month. Zoe Marriott's beautiful style of fantasy blends a soft fairytale tone with her own unique spin to the story. And the best part? Zoe is an incredibly nice and genuine person. Don't miss the giveaway for her books scheduled to post later today!

"What the heck is a geek now, anyway?

That was my first thought when Bella suggested that I do a guest blog on that theme. I mean, I was delighted to be asked and everything, but I wished the theme could have been something a little simpler. Like...I dunno...quantum time-slip theory or something.

You see, when I was in school, having that name applied to me made tears prick my eyes. And believe me, I spent a lot of time crying, because back then I was the textbook definition of a geek. I was taller than most of the boys, I had coke-bottle lense glasses, I had a 'posh' accent (most of the people in my area sounded like Christopher Eccleston - you know, the last Doctor Who) and, worst of all (gasp, shock, horror) I was not ashamed of being clever. I actually put my hand up in class without having to be forced to. I got - and laughed at - the teacher's weird jokes. I read books. In public!

That was before geek was ever an affectionate term. That was before clever, funny girls like Bella had blogs and LiveJournal accounts where they got to reach out to other funny, clever girls all over the world and make that term into something cool. Back then, a geek was the scum on everyone else's shoe. And once you were down there, everyone felt free to just keep stepping on you. Frankly, being called names was one of the milder abuses that I was subjected to.

Because I was a geek, I was punched in the face. Had my glasses ripped off and stamped on. Had ink poured down my back and chewing gum put in my hair. I was tripped in the hallways and pushed down the stairs. On two memorable occasions, I was spat on.

Looking back, I just can't figure out why the kids I went to school with hated geeks - hated me - so much. They'd already slapped their label on me, right? They'd already dismissed me as below contempt. All those cool kids who hung out at the back of the bike-shed, smoking, making out, drinking cheap alcohol and graffiti-ing all over the walls: they were at the top of the food chain in school. Everyone wanted to go to their 'orgies'. Everyone wanted to wear the clothes they wore, listen to the music they liked, be part of their group. Even the teachers didn't bother them. So why the heck did they spend their valuable time coming up with more and more ways to make my life, and the lives of other geeks, utterly miserable? Didn't they have anything better to do?

Wait a second! Suddenly, we've come full circle. Because the answer to that question is, of course: 'No'. Those kids really didn't have anything better to do with their time than harass innocent geeks. Maybe they didn't realise it consciously back then, but those years in school when they got to do whatever they wanted to do, say whatever they wanted to say, abuse and beat people up and no one dared mess with them? Those were going to be the best years of their lives. They had to make the best of it, because life was only going one way once they graduated - downhill.

That's why they hated us. That's why they had to torment us. Because us Geeks? We were just biding our time. When we left school, our lives were going to open up in a thousand different directions, taking us anywhere that we had the brains and ambition to go. Those cool kids had to get their licks in while they had the chance. Pretty soon, they weren't going to be able to touch us.

Thinking about that made me realise, even though 'geek' is not the same insult now it was when I was ten years younger, the meaning hasn't really changed all that much either. What is a geek? It's a person with brains, talent, passion. A geek is a person with things to do and places to be. A geek is a person who just might change the world one day.

So call me a geek. Maybe I'll even get it tattooed on my arm. I'm a geek, baby. And proud of it."

Zxxx