Having miraculously survived the Illinois education system, I am both devastated and not surprised to learn that my home state was ranked No. 49 in that department in 2007 (courtesy of today's video, verification pending). Granted, I genuinely had plenty of amazing teachers who are in large part responsible for my chosen career path and any success I may or may not have related to it in the future. But still ...
Welcome back to Vlogbrothers Rewatch -- an ongoing series of short articles in which I document my journey through the entirety of the Vlogbrothers YouTube channel one day, one video at a time. Using this playlist, I am rewatching everything in chronological order starting from the very beginning. And what a journey it's been so far!
It's so fun to watch John Green speak about Nerdfighter shirts as if there will always only be one. In total, I think I own at least four. Their merchandise company has since made and sold thousands upon thousands of shirts and other things Nerdfighters can't resist. There is just something about being able to wear something that represents your fandom, or something you believe in, that makes you feel special. A part of something. Like you are important; that you matter.
I do not own nearly as many shirts as I used to -- I would much rather reserve space and funds for books as a personal preference. But it does admittedly provide that sense of community a lot of us need now more than ever, especially with so many of us forming connections and relationships online. Maybe this isn't the Brotherhood of the Traveling Shirts, and maybe that's okay. But maybe if some of us did start something like that up again, some of us would feel a lot less lonely.