Everyone around me looks down on me programming

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Programming may seem like an admired skill everywhere in the world, but not where I live. (which is not Utapau)

Programming is a very favorite pastime of mine, only because I'm unable to get out of the house. (No, really.) I have programmed many things in my free time, including dictionaries (one in that weird Avatar language) in Visual Basic .NET, Smosh's "Shut Up" app in Scratch, and a semi-supercomputer in Visual Basic 6. I amaze adults with my such abilities, but people my age feel freaked out as they think I am a nerd for doing that.

Freaking people out for doing that, I don't intend to do it. When someone who really knows it brings it up, I just can't help but talk along. This happened once, and people tell me to stop or to get off the computer.

Here where I live, it is summer all year long, thus everyone wants to go outside. I feel alone as nobody wants to talk about it here. Everyone tells me to go outside and stop my programming, but I refuse. And no, there are no programming clubs or classes here.

I just can't resist the urge to program!

Could someone tell me why programming is weird, and why no one wants to talk about it?

Who are people your age?


Also, don't worry about how people view you, here's what matters:



[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imV3pPIUy1k[/youtube]



As far as why no one wants to talk about it: because it's complicated, involved, and most people are too lazy to learn it or takes too much time to learn it. People might react to you being weird because they feel intimidated or they simply don't have any interest in it and can't relate to your passion.

Anyways, again...don't worry about what people think. It sounds like you may be a bit strapped for finding people in real life who share your passion but I can guarantee you that you can find people online who share it and maybe through those connections maybe find someone who is actually in your area. It may seem roundabout but if the rejection from others bothers you, it may be a little more productive and better for you.

It's weird in that I really don't know anything programming-wise but I get along with them (programmers) a lot better just because there tends to be a kind of logic and process of thought you learn in programming that just naturally fits with how I think.

When people don't understand what you're saying, it's a sure sign you're better than them -geohot

But seriously, just do what you enjoy, f**k what people think. If you do want people to like you for your skill, code some games or something. Everyone likes games!

And BTW, people my age here in the UK don't seem to care much about programming either, they far prefer loitering on the streets in the day followed by getting drunk at night, because that's far more useful and productive...

I started programming pretty early in life - Dad took me to work with him on the weekends, and I could mess around on teh machines there. (this was in the 70s) In the early 80s, we got a Timex Sinclair 1000 with like 2k of onboard memory.

I was the only coder i knew (outside of like one adult) - remember, this was way before the popularity of the Internet, and BBSs weren't that popular just yet.

It wasn't so bad, really. I didn't really want many friends - still don't. eventually i found a few that shared my interestes. several of those are still pretty close friends. (almost _30_ years later).

So, don't stress. Code. I'm telling ya - it's worth it.

Keep on programming like SEGV computerlove, Asp-Z and skafather84 said. You'll find a lot more joy in life in doing what you like than pretending to be like everyone else.

However like computerlove said, talking about it all the time wont win you any favors. I had to learn to mostly shut up about my interests, but the pay off has been good.

You should do what you enjoy, and don't worry about what people think.

Also, adding to what I said before, if you do something notable in the computing world, you'll get reconised for it by people who actually have brains.