Writer, Agilist, Elder Geek
You've probably had times people tell you to give up your fannish hobbies, your meekness, etc. Grow up, they'll say. Get a life,you'll be told. This is immature, you'll be informed in a snooty manner.
Forget that.
The problem for many people is NOT that their fannish hobbies and geeky interests are immature, or time-wasting, or whatever. The problem is people do NOT take them far enough.
This is the wrap-up to my original "run" of Stereotype-fu columns. I'm sure there will be more, but I've covered most of my intended materials.
I'm going to close with a piece of advice near and dear to my heart: Being Stereotype Evolved.
You love your Pomeranain, which is why your gamerhandle lets people know they've been P0wned by CerebusPom23. Your sig file on your favorite message board references your Twitter account. Your color scheme for your fansite is a subtle variant on your favorite sports teams, each page lovingly coordinated.
If you're a fan/geek, especially if you're heavily online, you've probably got a lot of self-references. Handles reflect interests, websites reference other sites, your cosplay costume is based off of your love of Japanese history, etc.
Congrats. You're practicing one of the skills necessary for career success- self-reference.