Over the course of these few months, I have documented a voyage through my home. I donned an invisibility cloak to quietly sneak through the dragon's cave, trying to find treasures in the world of gender and nerd culture. And as I stand on the brink of the ending of my long, unexpected journey, I find myself changed and my views shifted.
When I first started posting, I was biased. There is truly no other way to describe it. I was an angry nerd girl who wanted to blow the whistle on the "unforgivable crimes of inequality and misogyny" in the "still a boy's club" nerd culture. Anything that could've been taken the wrong way, I took it that way. And although I was willing to listen to the other side of the argument, I found myself nodding my head and rolling my eyes.
However, through these months, I find myself changed. Through my research, I have found that the changes that I brutally cried for have started to -- and, in some instances, have already -- come. Gender inequality has started to shift out of the dynamic and morals of nerd culture. Once an area filled with surprise boss fights now has leveled out. Sure, the changes are slow, but they have happened. And my shouts have now turned to calm conversation.
While donning this persona, I have grown in my views and voice. Yet, I believe that if I were to grow even more, I would have to create a new persona. It would be a metamorphosis. I would grown and change from this person of protest into the person that I have now become. And through that change I would have to take upon a new persona.
I do think that my perspectives of writing in general and writing online have definitely changed. Being an artist, I have always dreaded writing. I always had troubles articulating the ideas and themes that I had in my head onto the page through words. The only way I found myself liking writing was through creative writing. But now it's different. I now find enjoyment in writing. I enjoy looking up sources and writing everything out. I love connecting the dots and proving points. And the books I have read have helped me better articulate the thoughts that float around my head.
My opinions of online writing have also changed. Writing online was always viewed as a personal action. Blog posts or Tweets always seemed to be personal bits of my stream of consciousness. They weren't anything more or less than just someone's thoughts put directly onto the page. But now I see them for the valid piece of modern writing that they are. Blog posts don't have to be the rant about a new movie or the day you had. They can change minds and contribute to the conversation. Tweets aren't confined to the world of status updates and mindless conversation. They can be used to reach the world in so many words.
Moving forward, I definitely will find myself using what I have learned in my professional, personal, and academic futures. Writing online is a pinnacle aspect of my career. As someone who wants to work in communications, it's imperative to have a good grasp of online writing skills and a good online voice. Through what I have learned here, I will be applying the newly acquired voice and skills to my jobs. My academic work will also benefit. My new knowledge of social media writing will make my future academic work easier. It will help push forward the learning process in all aspects of the Communications field. And my personal future will benefit as well. In a way, it already has. My discussions with my friends have become more concise. I'm able to better understand the necessity behind social media platforms and how to use them to the fullest.
My journey has lead me through many worlds. Some of those worlds were foreign to me while some were familiar stomping grounds. I gone places and met people that I never thought I would meet. I have see all sides of the multi-faced polygon and listened to their stories. I know that my journey isn't truly over even as the semester comes to the end. There are more worlds to see and more people to meet. And I can't wait to start down the path....once I figure out how to read this damn map.
Until next time...Stay Nerdy My Friends.
The Undercover Hipster
