Youthful wanderings
Shunned by many others
For the sake of stereotypes
Saying these games are lame
As if lesser than their acts
There is a purpose
To these ‘nerdy’ quests
They teach to tell a story
And think beyond our real
Sure, a player ate a die
Because it fell into the popcorn
My friend and I
Always grabbed each others drink
Dragons were slain
And spells were cast
Fun was had
Imaginations flexed and held
Which was the point
Even in my middle years
After my dice days gone
People still mock and tease
At the mention of my past
Enjoying my defense
And angry arguing
I have only one thing to say
Riddick played D&D
So go fuck yourself
One thing I cannot wrap my head around is how I still get teased for playing Dungeons & Dragons in my high school and college years. I got great stories and storytelling skills out of that hobby. So, it obviously wasn’t a waste of time. It really is strange to be mocked for this hobby when I don’t do it anymore. Half the time, it doesn’t make any sense. For example:
A Facebook ‘friend’ decided to take a random shot at me because pissing people off is a more noble hobby than role-playing games. A meme was posted of two pale, scrawny teens with ninja weapons. The one in the front had glasses and the caption was “Dungeons & Dragons Players: You will not take our virginity!” She tagged me as the glasses kid and wrote how it was really me. She claimed to legitimately believe that was me even though the kid looked like an emaciated version of the guy who plays Kick-Ass. Curly hair and I have straight hair. Face all wrong. Kid had a nunchuka while I love swords. I didn’t know about the tagging until people started asking me about the picture and who the other kid was. I think the damn thing is still up there too, but I rarely wander onto Facebook.
My point of this is that a lot can come from these games. Even if you’re not an artist, you learn how to solve problems simply by thinking. A person that can think outside of reality can create solutions that have never been thought of before. It’s not the only way to get this mentality, but it is a way. Besides, it’s a hobby. Most hobbies are ridiculous to those that don’t participate, so you might as well just shrug and go ‘whatever’. God knows, I did it when the Facebooker above tried to introduce me to hentai and made me wish I had the ability to turn my sense of sight off.
So, have you ever had a beloved hobby that other people didn’t understand or like?
Legends of Windemere 
I have the same hobby & I still play! It’s fun. I view it more like a board game than anything else. I shall find a pic for you, later though.
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A pic? I always get worried when someone says that.
I haven’t been able to find any gamers in years. My last few attempts were disasters. Nobody took the game seriously enough for progress to be made or they were more interested in powers like Red Mage from 8-Bit Theater. I always looked at it as joint storytelling because my friends and I also did stuff to break the characters back. It was goofy, random fun in high school. It was college when I got into the seriousness. Even then I was more interested in making a good character and adventure than the stats. It’s a hobby that can really appeal to the mathematical and the English majors depending on your approach.
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Reblogged this on Amanda's Words / starfire8me and commented:
Yes, there is. My kids love “LARP”ing and I like to play D &D with them too….
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My sister and her husband played all the time. I tried, but I clearly didn’t “get” it. When my brother in law died unexpectedly, the group that played lost interest.
The one hobby that some of my friends and family just don’t get, is reading! I know, how could that even be possible?!?!?!? But I guess it is because I would rather read than watch television or almost any other thing.
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A lot if groups are tied by one person or can’t go on without everyone. You form a close group if you play long enough.
I remember a few anti-book people. They were kind of sad and irritable. I have people get confused on my writing ‘hobby’ for the same reasons. I gave up a lot of television to focus on my books. Now we don’t spend much time together. Though if you’ve seen one crime show, you kind of get the pattern.
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Ha. You don’t have a writing ‘hobby’! You are a full fledged author. It is your job!
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That’s what I keep saying. Think I need a contract and an HBO series to prove myself.
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That would certainly be a huge bonus. But you are still an author don’t let anyone tell you differently
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Thanks. 🙂
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I can always send my flying monkeys if you need some help
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Tempted. How are they at book advertising? 🙂
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Definitely not their specialty. They are better at carrying people away
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I see. Maybe they can drop fliers on the big cities.
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Oh they could do that.
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I am very sorry, Charles. But you know, I do believe Facebook has an ‘unfriend’ option. 😉
And yep, I have one of those hobbies, too. It is writing. But he’s only one fish in the world’s big ocean. I have such a big support group here on wordpress, and from my mom and younger siblings, that one naysayer (or even several) cannot really hurt me.
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Unfortunately, the unfriending doesn’t remove the picture. It’s far enough back that it isn’t in my face. Still annoying.
Good philosophy on the naysayers. Us writers are so misunderstood.
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You can delete the picture. Also, give me that ‘friend’s’ name. She’s about to know the true meaning of hate mail…
Thanks. I try to ignore the naysayers, at least, don’t let them see that they’re getting to you. Be strong, my friend. One day you’ll be the one laughing at them!!!
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I can’t delete it from her page and I’m not sending people after her. I’m already laughing at some if them.
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Good for you! Laugh a little more loudly, that way I can join in! 🙂
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Mwahaha
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Hahahahaha!!!
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When I bought my first computer – late 90’s – I think the games I liked were called interactive fiction or something like that. You actually typed words. I also enjoyed Myst….
Ellespeth
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I remember those. Never got a handle on Myst. I played a lot of action adventure games and strategy games.
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I’m a gamer girl. Hubby has written a great new game recently and we are just waiting to get the few interested people in our tiny corner of the world organised to have a first session. I haven’t done any RP for years and I’ve really missed it (like so may other things). I also love to dabble in just about every form of fiber and paper craft, then of course there’s reading (which my family NEVER understood, my mother would comment on how rude I was to bury myself in a book instead of watching TV with the family). Then there’s board games of all shapes and sizes and brands, writing of course, and I also like to dabble (badly) with art.
Then there’s the general obsession with everything scifi especially if it involves the most wonderful Doctor Who – yeah, generally I’m a geek. But then I think that anyone who is obsessed or devoted to something is a geek.
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It’s strange that people are confused about reading. We learn how to read in school. It’s a basic tool and ability.
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Computers weren’t around when I was growing up, and by the time I heard about D&D, the game getting a bad rap. For me, the hobby was writing. Friends and family could understand my knitting and sewing and reading, but to them, writing was odd. In my neck of the woods, writers were perceived as mentally unstable. Fun times 😉
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Sounds like my area at times. I remember the D&D bad rap, but it never made sense to me.
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I think D&D was considered “complicit” in the Columbine shootings, or maybe that was a different game. All I knew was how the news media portrayed the game and you know everything reported by the news is barely purely on fact 😉
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That was a video game. I think it was Doom. Dungeons & Dragons used to be called satanic for some reason. I think because there were explanations of the spells.
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Okay, now I feel bad for ribbing you a little for your D&D past in the Pick Your Poison Post. I hope you know it was all in a good fun and that I adore you almost as much as Fizzle. Plus, I’ve got my own nerdy pursuits but those shall remain secret.
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I can handle ribbing, but the tagging on an embarrassing picture that isn’t even me is harsh. No idea why people do that on public forums.
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I would say its insecurity or jealousy. Some people can’t handle it when others become successful so they take little jabs at them to try to knock them down or feel better about their own inferiority. You’ve had the courage to go after your dreams and that is really quite rare when you think about it so I wouldn’t let it bother you too much. Take it as a sign that the world is beginning to sit up and take notice of you. Pretty soon we will all be saying, “ I knew him when…”
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Thanks. Though this incident happened before I considered self-publishing. I think it was merely they figured out how to tag people in pictures and I had the misfortune of making a D&D post or something.
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I read this post last night, and reread it this morning along with the comments. I still don’t understand what’s wrong with D&D and why people go out of there way to make fun of others for enjoying a hobby. It’s not like you shoot baby bunnies for fun or something *smh*
I write as a hobby. Some people don’t understand it and give me this strange look. Like when my boss asked me what I was going to do for five days when I was off work, and I told her that I was going to decorate my apt and write. Apparently the proper thing to do would be to take off for a vacation somewhere, but I prefer to be home, with an ice cold drink and sit down and write. People make fun of things they don’t understand or have no knowledge about, and for that, I feel sorry for them and their narrow-mindedness and ignorance. *cheers* to having hobbies Charles. And F*** the haters.
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Cheers fellow misunderstood writer.
D&D is seen as a high school nerd hobby with horrible food involved. Back in the day, the game was very simple in form. People mistook the magic system or something for satanism. Just unfounded stereotypes in some ways.
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