Oct. 30th: My Name Is John Green. And I'm a Nerd.

2007-10-30 · story · John · 3:47 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Personal life · mode: Personal update · tags: community lore

Thanking Hank for sharing 'It Just Isn't Fair', John says the book proves he is a real nerd, then shows highlights from his own childhood box, ending with the 'all-star in our hearts' trophy his parents had made for him, as his nerd credentials.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Greeting; accused of not being a real nerd; thanks Hank for sharing 'It Just Isn't Fair'; the cover art and the 'wimpy, wimpy' popular guy: he thought nerds were cool

★★ John says people sometimes accuse him of not being a 'real' nerd because he doesn't read much science fiction and likes sports a lot. — 00:00:12
★★★ John thanks Hank for sharing 'It Just Isn't Fair', the book he wrote at eight, because it proves once and for all he is definitely a nerd. (playful) — 00:00:19 · Hank Green
★★ The book's cover shows John as a quasi-abstract painting and a popular kid saying 'wimpy, wimpy'; John says at eight he thought cool meant hiked-up mismatched plaid pants, so he thought nerds were cool. (playful) — 00:00:30

00:00:54 — Where the box is; highlights: 1981 family portrait, third-grade Thomas Edison report, pink sticker album with military insignia page, the beanie

★★ Hank could not find John's box of childhood treasures in North Carolina because their parents sent it to John's house a few years ago, where it is kept under lock and key. (playful) — 00:00:54 · Sydney Green, Mike Green
★★ From the box John shows a 1981 family portrait in which he clearly needs to pee, and a third-grade report on Thomas Edison that got an A+ though he used 'interesting' eleven times. (playful) — 00:01:08
★★ John wonders what his parents were thinking with a pink sticker album they gave him for his birthday, with a page for military insignia stickers; he picked the rainbow stickers himself. (playful) — 00:01:32 · Sydney Green, Mike Green
★★ The beanie in the box was not bought by his parents in third grade: John bought it with his own money as a high school sophomore. (playful) — 00:02:08

00:02:19 — The only trophy: 1984 tee-ball alternate, Thanksgiving trip, 'all-star in our hearts'; nerd credentials proven; sign-off

★ John explains that in tee-ball, instead of hitting a pitched ball, you hit a ball sitting on a tee. — 00:02:38
★★★ In 1984 John, about four years older than the other tee-ball players, missed the all-star team to a kid he thinks was four and was named an alternate out of pity. (playful, hedged) — 00:02:50
★★ The all-star game fell on Thanksgiving weekend; John didn't want to visit Grandpa in Indiana in case he was needed, and only all-stars got trophies. (playful) — 00:03:00 · Indiana
★★★ Partly to get him to leave town and because they love him, his parents had a trophy made reading 'John Green, 1984, all-star in our hearts', his only childhood trophy, which he cannot find. (playful) — 00:03:16 · Sydney Green, Mike Green
★★ John concludes that these are his nerd credentials and that he has proven his point. (playful) — 00:03:37

Humor (significant)

John reads the cover of his childhood book, where the cool kid wears hiked-up plaid pants. — 00:00:52

“Hank, I was such a nerd that I thought the nerds were cool.”
John shows his third-grade report on Thomas Edison. — 00:01:20

“Thomas Edison, you know, who's famous for inventing the boom box.”
Four years older than the other tee-ball players, John still missed the all-star team. — 00:02:54

“I was beat out by a nice kid named Bryce, who was, I think, four.”
His parents had a consolation trophy made for him. — 00:03:23

“And the trophy says "John Green, 1984, all-star... in our hearts."”

Threads in this video

update · Hank finds and reads John's childhood book 'It Just Isn't Fair' (2007) — John thanks Hank for sharing the book he wrote at eight, says it proves he is a nerd, and discusses its cover art. (00:00:19) → refers to October 29th: It Just Isn't Fair
result reported · Hank asks John to show his own box of childhood keepsakes (2007) — Answering Hank's wish to see his version, John explains where his childhood box is and shows highlights from it. (00:01:05) → refers to October 29th: It Just Isn't Fair
told · John shows highlights from his own childhood box (2007) — John shows highlights from his childhood box, which their parents sent to his house: a 1981 family portrait, a third-grade Edison report, a pink sticker album and a beanie. (00:01:05)
told · John's 1984 tee-ball 'all-star in our hearts' trophy (2007) — John tells how, as a 1984 tee-ball all-star alternate, he got his only childhood trophy: one his parents had made, reading 'all-star in our hearts'. (00:02:26)

Where the stories that moved here went next

Hank asks John to show his own box of childhood keepsakes (2007) — reported back; last: result reported, 2007-10-30
John's 1984 tee-ball 'all-star in our hearts' trophy (2007) — told 2×; last: mentioned, 2018-10-29
Hank finds and reads John's childhood book 'It Just Isn't Fair' (2007) — followed over 3 videos (2007); last: update, 2007-11-02

Mentioned

People: Mike Green · Sydney Green · Thomas Edison

Works: It Just Isn't Fair

Organizations: Little League Baseball

Concepts: nerd

Places: Indiana · North Carolina

Events: Thanksgiving

Only in the description or credits: nerdfighter

Replies to

answers · October 29th: It Just Isn't Fair — “So I want to thank you for sharing the book I wrote when I was eight”

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