17 Things I Learned at DragonCon

DragonCon is known for the "Con Moment:" the life-changing, re-defining experience that occurs when you're surrounded by thousands of people who have identity-structuring things in common with you (most often and at the very least: a modicum of social awkwardness and a passionate enthusiasm for *something* in geek culture).  This year, as I covered DragonCon as a reporter and attended for the first time since the early 2000's, I had my share of those moments as I learned a lot about myself, my career choice, and the Con in general.  So here is my list of the 17 things I learned this year at DragonCon:

Gaming Girls: MMORPGs with the Young

I love my mmorpgs.  Everquest was my first obsession, but I hated having to spend money on a monthly subscription, especially when I'd have to skip a month or so because of the obligations of real life.  By the time I had the J-Rex, I was all about one of the first pay-per-expansion games, Guild Wars.  I remember, in her early years (when I still somehow managed to find the time to spend a few hours here and there making it through a new zone or farming), daydreaming about how cool it was going to be when the J-Rex was a teenager and we could play the game together (assuming the servers are still around by then!)...

Generations of Geeks, A Reflection

I am a second-generation geek, raised on a steady diet of comic books, Dr. Who, and Star Trek.  While my parents were playing Zork, I was working my way through it's kid-friendly equivalent, The Never-ending Story, and still remember the hours I put into translating my east and west text commands into a workable map to reference as I moved further into the game. I was the only girl in the comic shop, starting with the Archie universe and graduating to superheroes with Perez's re-vamp of Wonder Woman.  I was an equal-opportunity fan-girl, obsessed with both Marvel and DC, and a collector's nightmare because I would read those books until they started to fall apart. I attended Dr. Who fan club meetings and Trek conventions before I even knew more about them than Daleks were evil and Wil Wheaton was dreamy.