Upon further reflection, this is exactly my take away. It was really just a “awkward 14 year old hides her true self to fit in, realizes through high school and college that she actually doesn’t have to hide her true self, gains self confidence, ends up happier as a result” story (that many of us go through), but this time just happened to feature video games and gender expectations. Good on her for having the self-awareness to understand it, and the honesty to share it with the world, warts and all.
Sure, it made her cool in YOUR eyes, but it probably didn’t make her cool in the general high school population’s eyes, which is what this girl in particular seemed to be striving for in her teenage years. And really, it’s what many of us strive for in our teenage years. I gave up a lot of interests that I loved, but which were considered “uncool”, in order to fit in when I was in high school. Comics are one of said interests, and I’m only really getting back into them now, 20 years later.
