Mariko of Gamerwife wrote about her geeky confessions the other day, and I was so inspired by her honesty and that of others who joined in to share their geeky confessions that I knew I had to put together my own list.

Being a “geek” is a strange phenomenon, even though the journey hasn’t been strange at all. I grew up on sci-fi movies, video games, and “nerdy” pursuits like reading. While I had never viewed myself as “geeky” at the time, I knew that there were some things that just weren’t acceptable in mainstream culture, especially for a girl. I never felt attacked for my own interests, but I also never felt as if I could openly indulge in those things that I loved.

And then the Internet happened, and “geek” culture came to the forefront. It’s had — and is having – its ups and downs, but overall I’m glad that it’s easier to connect with others about “geeky” things. Whether it’s comic books, video games, superheroes, Harry Potter, or anything at all, the general consensus about what it means to be a geek is to feel immense passion for things that are of interest to you.

Yet despite feeling as if I can talk about my geeky interest more openly nowadays, there are certainly some opinions which I tend to keep to myself. Some are unpopular opinions. Some are just guilty pleasures (which I am having my own inner battle about the term as I type this). Some are confessions, because let’s face it — no human being can know everything about everything. I’m only human and there are some things I don’t like. Some movies I haven’t seen. Some books I haven’t gotten around to. Some games that I probably wasted my time on. But I want to share my confessions today. They’re not confessions I’m ashamed of, even though I might feel hesitant to share them at first, for a plethora of reasons.

But when it comes down to it, if you don’t have opinions about things, then why bother with the thing at all? We’re not all the same, and it’d be pretty darn boring if we were.

I hate Kingdom Hearts. I only play it out of spite. I think the gameplay is horrendous, I think the storyline is too complicated, I think the “halves” in between releases is totally BS. And frankly, I think Square got money hungry and ruined an otherwise awesome concept. Do I still enjoy Ariel’s “Under the Sea” singalong? …yes. Will I buy the third game when it if it ever comes out? Probably, but again, so I can beat it out of spite. For some unknown reason I just feel like Ihave to finish this ridiculous game.

I’m also a chronic video game starter, but I rarely finish a game. I’ve gotten better lately, but growing up on Final Fantasy I just kind of assumed that all games took 40+ hours to complete and found myself ditching games because I didn’t have the time. It wasn’t until later that I realized not every game is as long and daunting as the RPGs that I love, and I can easily complete a game if I build it into my schedule and just go for it. I’ve gotten a lot more confident and comfortable in my non-Playstation, non-RPG game-playing abilities too.

I didn’t start reading comic books until last year. I had my little bits of exposure to superheroes over the years, enough to know who they were and appreciate big blockbuster movies, but I was always scared of comics. I didn’t know where to even begin, and with so many different arcs and reboots and writers and teams it all seemed incredibly daunting. Not to mention I’d run out of just about every comic book store I had ever set foot in. I’m still learning how things all fit together, and while it’s still daunting, having friends that enjoy them makes me feel like I have a much better understanding. Finding your own tastes and likes always helps, too.I used to be fairly into anime in middle school, but over the years I just lost interest. As a Japanese major, people assume that I must like it, and there are certainly anime I’ve seen and enjoy. But I don’t keep up to date with anime (the last “wave” I really even heard of was Chobits/Nana/CLAMP/Death Note stuff). If it’s not Sailor Moon, Card Captor Sakura, Angel Sanctuary, Cowboy Bebop, Rurouni Kenshin, Gundam-era anime, I probably don’t know it. And honestly? I probably don’t care.A slow appreciation for Doctor Who seems to be fairly common. I’m not the only one I know who didn’t fall in love with the show right off the bat. Some friends on mine would marathon it, but it took me a good two seasons before I cared enough to do so. Not that I didn’t enjoy the show, but it just wasn’t marathon material for me until a ways down the road.My biggest Doctor Who confession, though?I don’t particularly like the Ponds. I found Amy to be a forced love interest for the Doctor, and just generally kind of boring. Perhaps I owe them a rewatch, and maybe they’ll grow on me more (they did a bit by the end of their run, but still, I felt like they were overhyped).I loved, loved, loved Anne Rice books growing up. I’ve always been solidly in the vampire camp, over zombies and werewolves and other supernatural creatures, however I came to know the Southern, exotic, dangerously old and beautiful with a hint of modern rock style of vampires. I haven’t read all of her books, and I haven’t read a lot of more recent vampire fiction, but I’ve always loved the old-world Romanticism she brought into her stories, no matter how ridiculous they sometimes were. I still refuse to read the fourthTwilightbook (another confession: I’ve read 1-3, but they just really bug me), but vampires do hold a place in my heart.

I could certainly go on about my infatuation with Victorian England; my belief that The Mummy (starring Brendan Fraser, of course) is the greatest movie ever made; my admission to not ever having read any Mark Twain, nor having any desire to; my ridiculous crush on David Hasselhoff in Knight Rider as a means to being able to have a car as cool as K.I.T.T; or my elaborate plans to become a mermaid. But I think that’s plenty for now.

What are your geeky confessions?