Poll: If you could do it again...

[Phasmal]

A lot of the time, when speaking to people about some of the bad treatment female gamers can receive in the community, I'm often rebuffed with something like `But I was bullied by girls/popular people for being a nerd!`.


This has always kind of confused me. I was picked on for being a nerd, also. But I don't carry any bitterness towards the people who did the bullying because- I've always loved my interests with a passion. I wouldn't change it at all. I was being picked on for something I absolutely loved, and could always turn to instead.
If I had the chance to do my life over as the popular person that everybody loved who wasn't interested in games, I would turn it down. There's no question in my mind.

So, I've been thinking-

If you had a chance to do your life over, so you never got bullied or marginalised in any way for being `nerdy/geeky/etc` (if you did), but you could no longer have the same hobbies, would you?

 

[Total LOLige]

I never got bullied for being a nerd as I only got nerdy interests after I started high school(2nd year), so I didn't have to deal with bullies as nobody noticed I was a 'nerd'. My high school didn't have a lot of bullies, I don't think, so I can't comment on high school bully culture. So I'd go with the N/A option

 

[Goofguy]

I never was bullied or marginalized in high school. I was a quite introvert who kept to himself and did his thing. If anyone had a problem with me, they certainly never made it known. I went to a pretty tolerant high school. As for after that, college was pretty liberal. Everyone was free to pursue their hobbies and no one really gave each other shit, they were just all glad to be away from home and start a new and exciting chapter in their life.

So short answer, this isn't applicable to me.

 

[Ryotknife]

I would like a do over for other reasons. In high school I was somewhere between jock, nerd, and class clown. I was never bullied for my video game hobby. looked down upon, perhaps, or ostracized , but not bullied. Only time I was bullied was because I had psoriasis, but that stopped quickly when I insinuated that its contagious (its not).

People looked down on me a lot more for my Magic the Gathering hobby.

Also, could you BE nerdy/geeky without those hobbies?

 

[JoJo]

I wasn't bullied a great deal because of my hobbies but regardless, I like what I like and screw what anyone-else thinks. No do-over from me

 

[krazykidd]

I wasn't bullied , i was about 6 feet tall when i started highschool so bullies stayed clear . I remember overhearing two bullies talk about me , it was quite halarious .

Bully1: hey , how come we never bullied this guy.
Bully2 : have you seen his size , do you really think it would have worked?
Bully1: i guess you're right .

Hurrah for being tall .

Now if i had the chance to redo it all , i would . I would get into bodybuilding and science . Because then i'd have a beautiful mind , and a sexy body , and get allthe bitches .

 

[Vegosiux]

Well, the natural answer is "no", since you're deciding betwene one known and one unknown. But consider when given such a choice, it would come with a full memory wipe, so that you don't know anything about how your life turned out anymore, in that case you're choosing between two unknowns.

For example, I am the nerdy geeky videogamey type, but I also love a good game of hockey. Now, if that was all information I had to go on (with none of the memories of what my current lifestyle is like), I could maybe decide to put more time into skating. Or maybe not.

 

[Scarim Coral]

No, I liked who I am. Sure I did get bullied but it wasn't because I was a nerd (the bullies were just racist).

 

[SckizoBoy]

Eh... not really...

If anything, I just wish someone had introduced it to me earlier. I only got into gaming (properly, at least) when I went to uni, for crying out loud... same for anime. And I only liked 'classic' sci-fi as a teenager.

So I'd like to do over, though for different reasons.

 

[an annoyed writer]

I'd want a conscious do-over to fix a few other things in my life, but never my geekiness. I liked everything I did with a passion, and that was something to behold, not hide. My sexual nature though was very convoluted and being a transgender girl I would have liked to transition earlier.

 

[Smiley Face]

Not applicable, I'm afraid. I was a total bookworm, but in my younger years I was quite good at making friends, and in my later years, I was taller than most, and could convincingly send out intimidating body language, from 'stay away' to 'run away'.