So what? When I was in middle school and high school, I was into math and science. I was into computers. Do you have to hate me for it?

As a skinny Chinese kid of average height, I was a prime target for this type of oppression. You see, I'm not the most dashing fellow in the world. I do not conform to what everyone else does. Why should I wear baggy jeans with long belts hanging down the side if I do not want to? Why should I spike my hair up into a ridiculous looking style that resembles a underendowed hedgehog? I am not a vicious person. I don't treat people like trash for no reason. I have one question to you jocks, cheerleaders, members of the "in" group, the so-called cool people, and all of you popularity hunters: Why do you hate me so?

I never offended you. I never even talk to you. Just because I get good grades, play violin in the school orchestra, and I do not enjoy sports you enjoy (I play tennis), you have to treat me like I was some kind of leper. I don't have a natural sense of humor. Is it a crime?

"But he is such a nerd, with his glasses!". So if I wear contacts (like I do now), would I magically transform myself into a cool person? I am not gregarious. Is that an excuse to beat the living shit out of me? Once, I retaliated. I grabbed a baseball bat and beat him into oblivion. His friend too. Little me beat their asses into bloody pulps. Them and their chains and their carefully arranged hair and their baggy jeans. Guess what? I was suspended. Big suprise there. No one bothered me after that. In their eyes, I was no longer a geekish nerd. I was a crazy psycho. Good riddance.

I try to be a nice guy. But my fellow teenagers shun me. Because of my appearance, my use of time (I studied instead of smoking pot all day with friends, but later I also discovered weed, but that is a different story). My fashion choices. Look, it is not like I am wearing short shorts. Do you really have a problem with loose non-baggy khakis? I don't hate people. But they hate me. Teenage immaturity.

What really amuses me now is how so many teenagers try to act all grown up. They want independence. They act like 5 year olds and they think they are independent. What is this generation coming to? I don't know. Not too many parents know about this seedy underside of what their children do. The bullies, the taunting, the alienation. We pretty much suffer alone.

Maybe not all of my fellow academic types went through this type of abuse. I lived in a relatively rich neighborhood, where the kids are spoiled silly.

Sometimes, I wonder what would happen if I was a jock (*shudder*). I could steal the weenies' lunch money. I can kick their asses. I can bathe myself in the glow of attention and popularity. Until one day, one of the "little people" snap and beat my snooby ass down so badly he had to get 40 stitches in his face. Maybe then I would learn to shut the hell up.

Log in or register to write something here or to contact authors.