Animarathon happened Saturday, and it means three things to me:

You can revive your childhood, embrace your “inner nerd” with your friends and expose yourself to things you may come to like.

Let’s start with childhood revival.

Many of us grew up playing Mario or Super Sonic on old-school game systems, and some of us read anime like it was Harry Potter at home.

I was not one of those children, so when I visited Animarathon last year as a freshman, I felt very out of place. But I thought it was so cool how people went out of their way to dress up and become the characters they grew up with.

I have a lot of respect for the fans who don’t care how they look for an entire day. I feel joy and happiness for their spiritual revival.

This year, a few distant colleagues from church dressed up as the Teen Titans. For those of you who don’t know, the Titans are a DC comic. Cartoon Network and the WB also ran an animated series from 2003 to 2006, which my sister and I are more familiar with (My favorite Titan is Raven).

I was looking forward to joining them because it would be my first true Animarathon experience, but I could not for a few “personal” reasons. I feel bad for letting them down, but I know they had lots of fun.

Let’s talk about embracing the “inner nerd,” shall we?

I asked a question to one of my colleagues’ boyfriends about the Titan named Starfire. I wanted to know the term for the orbs of energy she throws in battle.

He told me information I didn’t know from the comics and then called himself a nerd.

I chuckled and told him I believe we all have a little nerd or geek in us, and that it’s good to embrace it when we can.

I told him about my uncle who basically owns a small library of anime and games at his home.

When I think of nerd or geek, I have a positive connotation — we can be so engrossed in something that brings joy to us.

I’m sort of a nerd with my weird taste in music. I like mostly smooth jazz and Motown, and I also like Michelle Branch and a little bit of country.

My ringtone is “Let’s Get Started” — my favorite upbeat tune by jazz pianist Brian Culbertson. I’m planning on buying my favorite albums of his, which are “It’s On Tonight” and “Come On Up.”

I become upset when people I know tell me they’ve been to a jazz event, and I didn’t know about it or wasn’t invited.

I wish I could be like fans of rock music and go visit a Michelle Branch concert.

I wish I could own Stevie Wonder shirts or go back in time and see Smokey Robinson and The Miracles on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”

I’m just weird that way.

Guys can be nerdy about everything in the sports world. Likewise, girls can know everything about Pretty Little Liars and Twilight.

Finally, Animarathon symbolizes the overall exposure I’ve experienced at the University.

The only characters I’ve recognized are from Star Trek or Star Wars, but there’s others I never knew existed.

I’ve been exposed to other great things here.

I’ve tried to play Euchre, but I’m terrible, and I always thought it was spelled with a “Y” until this year.

Last year, I watched Jersey Shore for the first time, and I now know who Snooki is. She and the other girls abuse hairspray!

I still have to watch “Super Senti” episodes my classmate told me were on YouTube.

I watched WWE for the first time with two of my floormates. I’ve taken a liking to Sheamus, John Cena and C.M. Punk. The story may be staged, but the beatdowns are not fake!

The most important thing above all is that I’ve been exposed to a great community at H2O Church. I love and respect the people there, and they get the mission of seeking the Lord Jesus Christ.

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