In honor of her birthday, the Lady Geek of this week is the lovely Liz Giorgi!
You all know her through her cheeky, honest, and stylish writings on Being Geek Chic, but to me, she’s a career mentor, love oracle, personal stylist, and all-around life adviser. Jealous?
So happy birthday, Liz! And thank you for all of the wit and wisdom. Here’s to the fabulous years ahead!
Read on to get to know the birthday girl a little more:
Q: What has led you to your passion?
A: The transition into adulthood was really bumpy for me. I didn’t enjoy working 9 to 5. (I seem to be more productive late in the day…) I found that there were very few other “grown ups” who would admit to regularly thinking about the details of Dumbledore’s life or built LEGO sets on the weekends for the fun of it. And while writing was my profession, I wasn’t excited about writing anymore because it felt like a job I had to do. Big shock: because it was my job. Eventually, I realized that I was losing confidence in my ability as a writer. I had become formulaic. My copy had completely lost its way. Combine my depressed writing skills with my desire to geek the eff out and Being Geek Chic was born. The blog gave me the freedom to discuss how to bridge the gap between being a struggling grown-up and still loving the same things you did as a kid.
The best part is that I didn’t even know this blog would be my passion. I thought it would be a great hobby. Perhaps great hobbies are the best passions? Now, I think about it all day, every day.
Q: What inspires you in the world?
A: Science. Space. Things that we don’t know. Things that we know way the hell too much about.
For example, science writer Annie Murphy Paul wrote this piece called The Neuroscience of Your Brain on Fiction for the New York Times earlier this year and it’s still swirling around in my head. It’s the perfect example of the unlimited potential of our minds in both fiction and non-fiction realms. And perhaps what fascinates me most is that to our minds, there is an intersection there that informs our thoughts, feelings and perceptions. While Lev Grossman was imagining a new type of animangi in a fictional world, scientists in our physical world are mapping the shared genetics of humans and animals. If a brain could have an orgasm - this idea would give mine one.
Q: First time you realized you were “geeky?”
A: In the eighth grade I had an English teacher who had a real love of science fiction. She assigned both The Hobbit and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 that year and I loved both on a level that the other kids didn’t seem to appreciate. I went to the library and looked up other books that shared the same shelves and discovered George Orwell and Margaret Atwood. There really was no going back after that.
Q: What would you tell you 13-year-old self?
A: Don’t lose that master copy of your alien language. You will be thoroughly amused by it 13 years from now. Leaving high school early will be the best thing for your brain and your heart. It’s OK if you don’t understand economics - turns out we’ve bastardized it so much that most economists don’t understand it anymore either. Don’t throw away that glow in the dark Batman tee. You’ll never find one that cool again.
Q: “I admit it—I’ve never seen/read/experienced: ____”
A: The original Star Trek series. I’m just afraid to go down that road, because there is SOOO much to watch. However, the JJ Abrams movie was truly wonderful and beautiful, so maybe I’ll get around to it.
Post by Emma Bauer, who works as BGC’s official intern. Clearly, she’s got great taste. She is a PR enthusiast, history scholar, tea drinker, fashion devotee, and of course, aspires to Be Geek Chic. On twitter: @emmalynnbauer