An ode to that “coffee friend”
I thing I decided late in life is that being really into things is cool.<p>Something I&#x27;m rather sad about is that highschool kinda beat that attitude out of me.  I was a classic nerd, including all the bad attributes that label comes with, but also one really good one: I was really into a number of things.  But I learned from hard experience that being super into stuff was lame - being disinterested and too cool for stuff was hip.  I internalized that attitude.<p>Even into adulthood, I occasionally find myself making fun of people for being into specific things.  I eventually made myself a rule: if someone really enjoys something that&#x27;s not hurting anyone, that&#x27;s an admirable trait.  It&#x27;s easy to obey this rule for things I like: science fiction, fancy beer, programming.  It&#x27;s not too hard to obey this rule for things that I&#x27;m not personally into, but are culturally adjacent to me: classical music, literature, skiing, fancy coffee.  It&#x27;s harder for things that are not as cool among my social group.  I sometimes have to remind myself that being super into football, nascar, or the bachelorette is just as admirable as being into my things.  Un-ironic enthusiasm is one of our best traits as humans, even when directed towards things I don&#x27;t personally get that excited about.<p>And so I&#x27;ll always appreciate that coffee friend.  They&#x27;re lucky enough to have maintained the ability to nerd out about something and I&#x27;m glad of it.