Hello!  My name is Alastor, and I am a proud nerd!  I love all things nerdy and geeky and I’m not afraid to show it.  However, it did take me a while to get to this point.

     My whole life, I was made to feel ashamed for my interests, even as a kid, because of my parents who didn’t know how to deal with their autistic kid.  So I tried to fit in as best as I could and ignored my interests, pretending to enjoy what I was told I was supposed to enjoy.

     Luckily, I did have people around me who encouraged me to follow my passions, and so I still got to read comics, play Lego, and watch cartoons, even if it was only occasionally.

     And now, as an adult, despite the negative messages I’ve received from my family about how bad my interests were, I met my wonderful wife who is just as nerdy as me and insists on making me read and play as much as I want so we can have amazing discussions about all these things we love.

     To be perfectly honest, it’s still hard sometimes to accept that I am allowed to enjoy these ‘childish’ things, and I do occasionally stop myself from buying another comic book, or a new Lego set.  But then my wife suggested I write about them, as a way to allow myself to display all my enthusiasm, and also as part of my healing process.

     And so here I am, writing about all my favorite things, to encourage others to stop being ashamed of their nerdy, silly, awesome interests!