Bohemian Blerd

The Chronicles | Identity, Curiosity & Living Beyond Expectations

My husband recently asked me a question.

“Have you explained why you call yourself Bohemian Blerd?”

Well.

That’s a good question. And the answer was no.

Apparently, I had created an entire website around a name without explaining why I chose it.

So, here we are.

The Bohemian

When people hear the word bohemian, they may imagine artists, unconventional lifestyles, or people wandering through life without a plan.That’s not quite what I mean.

For me, being bohemian is about intellectual and personal freedom. It’s about refusing to allow somebody else’s expectations to determine the boundaries of my interests, experiences, or identity.

I’ve never believed that people should have to fit neatly into one category.

I can appreciate structure while questioning convention. I can value tradition without believing that everything traditional deserves preservation.

I can spend hours studying a difficult historical question and then become equally fascinated by something completely unrelated.

I love traveling, learning, exploring unfamiliar places, and discovering perspectives that challenge my assumptions.

Sometimes those experiences confirm what I believe.

Sometimes they make me reconsider.

Both outcomes are worthwhile.

I don’t need every interest to fit neatly into a five-year plan.

Sometimes curiosity is reason enough.

The Blerd

A blerd is a Black nerd.

And I embrace that description.

Not because I think being intellectually curious makes me special, but because I have always found genuine pleasure in learning.

Give me a complicated historical question, an interesting book, a fascinating documentary, or a conversation that begins with “Have you ever wondered why…?” and I’m interested.

I enjoy examining evidence, questioning assumptions, and discovering how seemingly unrelated events connect.

I also enjoy a good mystery, an unexpected adventure, and laughing at life’s absurdities.

Because somewhere along the way, people decided that being intellectually serious meant you had to be serious all the time.

Who made that rule?

And why would anybody follow it?

Being a blerd doesn’t mean knowing everything.

Quite the opposite.

It means recognizing how much there is that I don’t know and being excited about discovering more.

And yes, my identity as a Black woman informs how I experience the world. But it doesn’t limit what I am allowed to find interesting.

Black intellectual curiosity is not confined to particular subjects, professions, or expectations.

Neither am I.

Why Put Them Together?

Because neither word tells the entire story.

I am an educator, but teaching is not my entire identity.

I am interested in history, but I don’t live exclusively in the past.

I value education, but I also believe some of life’s most meaningful lessons happen outside classrooms.

I appreciate thoughtful debate, but I also believe a well-timed raised eyebrow can communicate volumes.

And I have absolutely no intention of pretending that curiosity, humor, independence, and intellectual seriousness cannot coexist.

They coexist in me quite comfortably.

Bohemian speaks to my desire to experience the world beyond prescribed boundaries.

Blerd speaks to the joy I find in learning, questioning, and making connections.

Together, they describe a woman who is comfortable being more than one thing.

So What Is Bohemian Blerd?

It’s a space for curiosity without unnecessary boundaries.

Some days, I’ll write about history.

Other days, education, leadership, culture, travel, or an observation that left me laughing long after the moment passed.

Occasionally, I’ll examine a question that makes people uncomfortable.

Not because I enjoy being contrary for the sake of it, but because uncomfortable questions sometimes lead to worthwhile conversations.

I don’t expect everyone to agree with me.

In fact, I’d be a little concerned if they did.

I simply hope readers will question what they think they know, consider another perspective, or discover something that makes them curious enough to investigate further.

And sometimes, I hope they’ll just laugh.

So that’s why I call myself Bohemian Blerd.

Not because I couldn’t decide which box to check.

Because I never agreed that I had to choose just one.

Curious by nature. Unconventional by choice.

Come curious. Leave thinking. And don’t forget to laugh along the way.