Since this board is anonymous, in the interest of full disclosure, up until the second half of my senior year of high school, I was what you would call a nerd. There, I said it. I was a nerd. One thing that seems constant across the generations is that for whatever reason, smart kids are singled out, picked on, and ridiculed. I was no exception. Some of my classmates had some very nasty nicknames for me. Kids can be extremely cruel to to other kids that they see as outsiders. As a result, I was extremely unhappy during much of my pre-teen and teen years. It wasn't until I was nearly 18 and started hanging out with the stoners that I truly felt accepted. Now as an adult I could care less who likes me or doesn't like me. I am happy with myself and that is all that matters. I don't need anyone elses approval. But to kids, social acceptance is very important, and not being accepted can make life horrible, and unfortunately outsiders often turn to not so healthy sources to gain acceptance outside of the normal high school social hierarchy.
