Introvert Pride

Call any introvert words like "nerd" or "geek" and you're bound to get a surprising response -- that is, if you intended to come off as insulting.  Indeed, we are likely to reply with a zealous "thanks!" But why would introverts like me not take offense to being labeled a nerd?  After all, in pop culture -- namely sitcoms like Saved by the Bell and Family Matters -- nerds are portrayed as losers who spend all their time studying and who couldn't land a date to save their lives.  It's because we recognize that our intellectual inclinations -- devouring books, writing prolifically, consuming educational films and documentaries, virtually living at museums -- makes us unique. We can't help but to seek intellectual stimulation any way we can. Our curious minds demand it; if not, we get bored and lose total focus.  That's not to say the average person doesn't do these things every now and then. But most introverts make a pastime -- a way