Shocker alert: I like nerdy things
Who, me? A nerd? Preposterous!
Here's a short list of generally considered "nerdy things" that I have enjoyed at one point or another: D&D and other roleplaying games, tabletop boardgames, Magic: the Gathering, manga, cartoons, video games (including good ol' World of Warcraft), Warhammer 40k and Lord of the Rings Warhammer, fantasy novels, comic books, and some other stuff I'm sure I'm leaving off of the list.
Point is, "nerdy things" appeal to me.
My current dilemma: I don't have/make the time in my schedule to actively participate in many of these nerdy things.
Back in high school, a group of friends and I would get together every weekend and play Lord of the Rings Warhammer before we wound up transitioning into Dungeons and Dragons (I may or may not have accidentally sent two of my best friends down a path of lifetime obsession, whoops). I would play video games nightly, play board games with my family, watch Star Trek: The Next Generation (the BEST Star Trek; fight me) with them and after all of that still have the time to do well in school and do random ass creative things.
These days, I'm lucky if I can summon the energy to bring Binding of Isaac up on my Steam account and noodle around for half an hour before realizing I'm bad at that game and moving onto something else.
It's not that my life is an eternal slog of NO FREETIME OR RELAXATION EVER, but even though there's all of these things I deeply love and wish I got a chance to play around with more, not many of them are conducive to actually relaxing.
Reading nerdy shit is my primary nerdy activity. Because it's relaxing and doesn't require me to invest more energy than I really can. Games all take a lot out of me. As a proud ambivert, I need that alone time and solace very much.
Do you hear what I'm saying? Video Games are too much work for me. That. Is. Madness. But even so, it's true. As much as I absolutely love games Factorio and Crusader Kings and Minecraft and Binding of Isaac and Rimworld and etc., the fact that they require me to physically be doing something while I'm already doing phyiscal stuff all day in one way or another seems like an impossible hill to surmount.
I'm being overdramatic. But the fact is, I really like my nerdy shit. And these days it's too expensive, in terms of time, energy and money.
I listen to podcasts on some of these interests. That's about the only way these days I can manage even a peripheral participation in the loves of my life.
I'm sure this is not an uncommon feeling, particularly for young adults who are trying their damndest to build a career.