The Ice Queen of My Brain

You Will Bloom

This is a brief return to the old narrative format of this book, for no reason other than I felt like it :)

.....................

Yesterday was homecoming at my university. 

About this time back in high school, I would've been holed up in my room under a blanket, typing away at my latest novel while everyone else was dancing the night away, scared to show my face because I thought I was too socially inept to be seen in public. Queen Saralee surprisingly would've supported me, because she understands all too well what it's like to be a nerd. 

This year, I was at the homecoming dance. With a date. 

He's a fellow teen college student and aspiring engineer and entrepreneur. He wants to change the world with AI just as badly as I want to change it with music, words, and genetics. Talking to him increased my respect for myself as I realized that what had been social awkwardness in a high school environment translated in the real world to maturity. I may not be up to date on the latest music and memes, but I can hold a conversation about politics and scientific research without skipping beat. 

As a result, I now formally redesignate myself from "nerd" to "informed citizen," because that is a term that more accurately reflects the real world advantages of knowing your stuff. Queen Saralee certainly approves...she may have even shed a tear at what she calls my "blooming". 

To all those nerds out there, you will bloom. It happened for me earlier than it should've because I choose to go off to college much sooner than most, but it will happen for all of you someday. The world doesn't run by the rules of high school. Depending on where you find yourself in life, you'll be around a markedly different set of people who will evaluate you by a different set of standards. Believe it or not (trust me, I did NOT believe it), someone will find you attractive. Someone else will look up to you. Someone else will take you under their wing and teach you something important. You can't picture these things now because you haven't met these someones yet. But you will. I promise. 

In case any of you wanted an update on Keilee from my middle school days, at the end of eighth grade she made a big deal about applying to a fancy private high school that rich mommy and daddy were going to pay for. Everyone supported her and cheered her on: after all, she was Keilee. I went home with new resolve after this, urged on by Queen Saralee, who described the school as the "IAYN for humans" after some careful research. I begged my parents to let me apply, too, because I wanted a second chance to prove myself among a new set of people. Maybe my peers there would be more mature and sophisticated. Maybe they would accept me for who I was. 

My parents were adamant in their refusal. Isolating yourself from the general population won't teach you to deal with them, they said. The world is full of all kinds of people, and you must learn to get on among all of them. I was disappointed, but I understood their reasoning. Meanwhile, Keilee applied to the school, but since she was never the brightest, she wasn't accepted. 

Queen Saralee summarized the message behind this nicely. See? Everyone thought Keilee was all that in middle school, but now you're in college and she's vaping in a public high school bathroom. For once, I don't have anything sarcastic to say. I'm just proud. All those inferior beings who peaked in middle school are on their way down, and you're on a swift path upward. It never fails. The nerds always bloom. 

The nerds always bloom. And that's coming from a 300 year old Iceheart, not from me.