A Single Step

Yesterday, Taylor mentioned Lao Tzu’s “single step” and very nicely summed up what draws people to Nerdfighteria. I don’t think I can discuss what I love about the community without repeating what’s already been written, so instead I would like to start out today by making an (admittedly non-scandalous) confession.

I am a fairly new nerdfighter.

In much the same way as Taylor, I became a fan of Charlie McDonnell in 2010. I started working in a bookstore in September and noticed we had a copy of Paper Towns, which I remembered Charlie discussing in one of his videos. I ended up buying it, I ended up loving it, and it ended up leading me to John and Hank Green’s YouTube channel. At first, I just found the vlogbrothers entertaining. But I soon encountered the community has risen up around John and Hank. I admired that community. I wanted to be a part of it, and since wanting to be a nerdfighter is practically the only necessary qualification for being a nerdfighte, a nerdfighter named Brad was born. While I’m still pretty new to the community, I’m growing increasingly fonder of Nerdfighteria and its inhabitants.

It is because I am new, and because I want the full Nerdfighter experience that I’ve started watching all the vlogbrothers’ videos from the beginning.

As might be expected, the early videos weren’t quite as polished as the current ones. The community didn’t factor as much into the videos because it hadn’t come together yet. There were, in the first couple months, more ridiculous challenges and less decreasing of worldsuck. The brothers even spoke with less of the enthusiasm they now possess in their videos. The vlog lacked direction, purpose, and although it was entertaining, it likely didn't mean as much to viewers as it does now.

But it’s still interesting to watch as John and Hank’s little 2007 Brotherhood 2.0 project starts growing into what it is today: a vibrant, intelligent community dedicated in part to decreasing the amount of suck in the world, which includes (get this!) being nice. They simply started Brotherhood 2.0 as a way to better connect and communicate: that was their single step. And although from all indications neither Green expected to as a result of their project, they've now journeyed a thousand leagues. Or more.

I guess I notice these things because we too, are at the beginning of a beginning this week. Like John and Hank, we’re starting a project of some vague, undetermined nature, with little else than some shared interests and a few arbitrary rules to guide us. Perhaps we will find dedicated hordes of fans, descending upon Still Life every weekday to read what we write. Or maybe we’ll write in obscurity with only each other as readers. Either of these two options, and a million in between and outside of them, are possible. And that's kind of awesome.

Whether our journey takes us a thousand leagues or not, this is Still Life’s beginning, our single step. I have no idea where this blog is going, but I’m excited to find out.

See you on Tuesday,

Brad

Afternote: My store (technically not mine, I just work there) has always stocked all of John’s novels except one. However, I finally managed to find An Abundance of Katherines when I went out of town this weekend. I am about halfway through it, and it is fantastic. Expect a post on that, on another Tuesday.