growing up I was the ugly duckling. I was "the weird one" I had a big gap in my front teeth, my nickname in high school was "dave" after dave letterman. I grew up with my Army Major dad, who did not encourage (or buy) make up or feminine clothes. "Are you a boy " was a common teasing question. My dad was teaching me computers in the 80s and I liked science conversations. I was a big reader with a highly intellectual father who had big conversations with me. When I used big words people would ask me if I was trying to show off or make them feel stupid. I got called weird more times than I can count. I had one friend in high school. To be fair, my over protective father did not allow me to ride in cars with anyone and we lived out in the country side of town. I once saw a bumper sticker that made me feel better, it said: "You laugh at me because I'm different. I laugh at you because you are the same" Eventually the gap in my front teeth grew together and I got closer to my mom who showed me how to put on makeup, style my hair and act more like a girl. The mean teasing boys from highschool apologized to me in my early 20s (while proceeding to ask me on a date - uh No thanks). While it was painful to go through, it gave me a lot of empathy for people who struggle with "being weird" for whatever reason. I'm generally defending the underdog and go out of my way to be kind to people who look like they need some friendly energy. As I moved into the professional world, I realized I needed to hang out with smart tech loving nerds who wanted to make the world a better place. Which is why I fell in love with the mission of Bitcoin in 2016 and the nerds who came along with it. Now all you Nostr nerds and weirdos are my new family. We are a P2P family building tools that will outlast us and empower many future generations (assuming we do it right and have our intentions be love based). Sending YOU love and light my dear weird one ❤️