Be proud to be a geek - by Monica

Image credit: Thisnext. Read Katie's mom's blog here or read original articles on To Write Love On Her Arms or CNN.com

Today is "Proud to Be Me Day."

The day is hosted by 7-year-old Katie Goldman's school in Illinois in order to raise awareness of bullying. I couldn't believe all the support for this one girl who was made fun of in school. It's so inspiring that so many people took this stand against bullying to help this girl. It shows that, no matter how many bullies there are in the world, there are so many people willing to take a stand against it. Almost 30,000 people, attending on Facebook, are planning on taking part in this Geek Pride Day.

Katie is a huge fan of the "Star Wars" sagas, carrying around a "Star Wars" water bottle to school everyday. But then, the kids at school started making fun of her -- telling her that "Star Wars" is only for boys, not for girls. Katie was the only girl in class who was adopted, who wore glasses and had to wear a patch on her eye. And, so, she decided to change herself for the kids in her class -- bringing a pink water bottle to school instead of her "Star Wars" one so she could try and fit in in some aspect of her life.

Katie's mom posted a blog about what had happened, and the voice of Padme in the animated "Star Wars: Clone Wars" read it. So did blogger and fellow geek Jen Yates.

Catherine Taber, the voice of Padme, wrote: "I am [the] actress who has the great honor of being Padme Amidala on 'Star Wars: the Clone Wars!' I just wanted to tell Katie that she is in VERY good company being a female Star Wars fans...I know that Padme would tell you to be proud of who YOU are and know that you are not ALONE!THE FORCE is with you Katie!"

Katie received thousands of support from people she didn't knew -- and was sent "Star Wars" girl gear, a lightsaber and a cartoon of her as a Jedi.

So, today, broadcast what you're interested in, whether it's "Star Wars" like Katie or something else. I'm hoping this will help people to realize that you need to be whoever you want to be -- and stop making fun of people who are "different" than you.