I never liked team sports as a kid. Not much use for clubs either. I tried cub scouts, little league, and even the swim team. Gave up on all of them pretty quickly. Not interested in team sports as an adult either. I have no interest in playing them, and unlike many grown men, I have no interest in watching them either. I was always somewhat of a loner as a kid and even to some extent as an adult. My hobbies include hiking, camping, hunting, fishing, mountain biking, skiing, all things that don't require a team or club and you can just do by yourself. While I have a successful career, I still fantasize about telling my boss where he can go and heading to the wilderness of Alaska and living off the grid. Most likely not going to do it (wife hates winter), but it's nice to fantasize. Not everyone loves the "normal" life, even if they are doing their best to live it. I hate Corporate America and working for the man, but I see it as a necessarry evil, a means to an end.
As a child one of my elementary school teachers said that I marched to the beat of a different drummer. In my home town, it really wasn't until middle school that the social cliques formed, and that's when I became a social outcast. It carried over into high school as well. With the exception of my last few months of senior year, I too hated high school. In fact after my 10 year reuinion I said to myself "I hated these people ten years ago and I really don't like them any more now." Never went to another reunion, never kept ties with any of those people and I really could care less. High School is not the most important thing in life. Although for me college was a different experience. I didn't need to fit in, fitting in didn't seem to matter at the University. For the first time in my life I was with people from all walks of life and from all over the world. I just didn't see the cliques like I saw in high school. I look back at college as some of the best years of my life. High school, not so much.
The good news is that your son is only 18. Maybe he is just going through an extreme case of typical teenage behavior. Typical teenage behavior can look like difficult child behavior and I think that sometimes it's hard to tell the difference. When they are still acting like this in their 3s and 40s there is no doubting that it is difficult child behavior. While you can't force your son to change and be the way you want him to be, there is hope that this is just a phase and he will come to his senses, or maybe not. Maybe going to Colorado and living off the grid is what will really make him happy, and as long as he is happy and taking responsibility for his own life, you should be happy for him too.
