For what it's worth to the many kids out there who are in the geek crowd, standing outside what's considered normal...
I was exactly that in high school. The dangerous nerd who knew about eight times as much as the people around me. I was hacking out the oldies while my peers were looking for the cheapest beer they could smuggle. I wasn't the one with the best looking girlfriend or the hordes of adoring followers. I was different in every imaginable way.
Well, I didn't bother assimilating. I didn't bother going mainstream or talking about my feelings or any of the New Age Warm Fuzzy stuff. I stuck to who I was, and even played it up a bit.
Where am I now? Well, nearly a decade later, I'm the youngest senior executive at the healthcare company I work at. I make ridiculous amounts of money doing what I love: technology. In fact, I would say I probably make about three times what those high school peers of mine now make. All of the jocks, all of the "in" crowd hit their peak. They peaked too early, and they're now tired, old souls in life. Me? What was once called "weird" in hallway whispers is now written as "innovative" on performance reviews. What was once called "nerdy" is now "fast track to success".
You may have to endure some awful things in the near future as the mainstream culture plays moral masturbation to make everyone feel better. Take the anger and the resentment you feel and direct it toward the goal I found: to best every single naysayer and insulter, to take their world and not destroy it, but own it. The path in the real world awaits you if you can fuel your motivation with every insult you've ever received.
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For what it's worth to the many kids out there who are in the geek crowd, standing outside what's considered normal...
I was exactly that in high school. The dangerous nerd who knew about eight times as much as the people around me. I was hacking out the oldies while my peers were looking for the cheapest beer they could smuggle. I wasn't the one with the best looking girlfriend or the hordes of adoring followers. I was different in every imaginable way.
Well, I didn't bother assimilating. I didn't bother going mainstream or talking about my feelings or any of the New Age Warm Fuzzy stuff. I stuck to who I was, and even played it up a bit.
Where am I now? Well, nearly a decade later, I'm the youngest senior executive at the healthcare company I work at. I make ridiculous amounts of money doing what I love: technology. In fact, I would say I probably make about three times what those high school peers of mine now make. All of the jocks, all of the "in" crowd hit their peak. They peaked too early, and they're now tired, old souls in life. Me? What was once called "weird" in hallway whispers is now written as "innovative" on performance reviews. What was once called "nerdy" is now "fast track to success".
You may have to endure some awful things in the near future as the mainstream culture plays moral masturbation to make everyone feel better. Take the anger and the resentment you feel and direct it toward the goal I found: to best every single naysayer and insulter, to take their world and not destroy it, but own it. The path in the real world awaits you if you can fuel your motivation with every insult you've ever received.