For those who don't know, Nerdfighteria is a community that sprung from the VlogBrothers YouTube page, now almost a decade ago (The titular brothers being John and Hank Green). You've probably heard of either the community or the Brothers at some point. They're kind of a big deal.

I stumbled upon the Brothers and the Nerdfighter community around 2009. I was just starting college and, being far away from my friends and family in a strange Floridian climate, I was looking for ways to connect. John and Hank seemed to welcome misfit toys with open arms, as did the Nerdfighter community. Their videos were funny, informative, and incredibly entertaining. If I was having a tough day with classes, a Vlogbrothers video would always cheer me up.

Vlog culture was popular during that period, and I found it to be a very interesting connection between creator and viewer. We got to see into their daily lives - their struggles and triumphs - and after watching for some time, I felt I could call these people my friends. It was a very odd, fairly one-sided friendship that seemed only possible through the modern wonders of the internet, but it made me feel incredibly connected all the same.

I found out that one of my best friends from home also kept up with the Brothers, and eventually we even followed in their footsteps and started a vlog of our own. Every week, one of us would post a video of goings-on in the Twin Cities or Tampa, which greatly helped me feel connected to my friends back home.

By the time I had graduated and returned to the Cities, I was pretty invested in Nerdfighteria. I'd watched all the videos, read many of John's books, and was still looking for new ways to connect. Naturally, when my Vlog partner and I heard about a growing convention in Annaheim called VidCon, we were incredibly interested. Basically Comic Con for YouTube, VidCon sounded like a fantastic way to meet our favorite creators and further connect with the community.

VidCon was everything we had hoped it'd be and more.

We got film making tips directly from Freddie Wong. We heard Epic Rap Battles and George Watsky perform live. Between panels, workshops, and Main Stage events, we found that all of the creators we had grown to love were just as amazing in person as their web presences had led us to believe. And seeing the YouTube community in real life was fantastic, as well. It always felt a little awkward talking to a camera in public, but at VidCon, it was almost strange not to participate in some form of video documentation.

We ended up meeting a fellow Nerdifighter during our second VidCon in 2014. She was from California, but as luck would have it, went to the U of M. Small world! Our party kept in touch and continued the convention tradition when NerdCon cropped up in Minneapolis last year.

Nerdfighteria provided me with connection during a time when I felt very isolated. It strengthened old friendships, and created some fantastic new ones that I never would have had, if not for the community. Nerdfighters continue to decrease world-suck, and never forget to be awesome. If you don't know what I mean, check out the community. I'm sure you'll want to be a Nerdfighter, too.