I don't really feel like going into more detail..... but anyone else teased relentlessly here for being "weird"? Its so dumb, I don't do anything to them and yet they feel like they have the right to make fun of me because I don't wear shoes all the time, etc. People!

--Laura

Laura, I don't know if you still revisit this post, however I've gotten quite used to the label "weird" and you're right, it's NOT fair. In my introductory thread, I explained how I wasn't aware of the fact that I had ADD, only that I felt "different". Upon reading my neurological report dated back a decade ago, I read comments from teachers such as "Obviously a bright student with potential, however does not seem liked by the other children". Most of my childhood was like that, with the exception of a few friends in my development. After moving to Denmark and being put into a school where I couldn't even speak the language, it became even harder so eventually I put aside the notion that I was "different" and tried 'accepting' that it was due to my language handicap. After a few years, I won a scholorship to an international school where I thought it'd be easier as English is my first language. At first, it went great. Gradually, however, it started downhill. My social relations, that is. Now that I'm aware I have ADD, I am able to trace acts that I considered myself to be normal to symptoms regarded closely to ADD.

"Its so dumb, I don't do anything to them and yet they feel like they have the right to make fun of me because I don't wear shoes all the time, etc. People!"

We think it's dumb the way they act, but it's also because they don't understand ADD and they haven't gotten to know us for the people we are. It's tough, especially in high school (thank god I graduated this year) where the majority is focused on what's "cool" and "normal". All we can do is educate the intolerant but, as I'm sure many would agree with me on, high-school is probably one of the more intolerant enviroments one could be in. But <i>c'est la vie</i>

completely agree with you there sam, just one more year of this dreaded highschool and I'm free. What I found that worked for me was find other people with mental disorders they tend to be more real and less "doing what's cool". Don't worry I wen't through all that stuff and still am but just know that you are who you are and if people dont except it then f**k them.

I get it everyday, until recently when I started wearing a headband from a t.v. show in japan, and they hate it, paybacks a *****, find something that drives them nuts and just do it

Hey Laura, I got out of H.S. last year (it feels much longer than that), and while things got better for me in the later years of H.S., back in Elementary and Junior High I was considered "weird" too. I thought I might be retarded, but that was not the issue at all. Just whatever you do, realise that these years aren't going to last forever, they aren't the "best years of your life", and never lose your sense of self, do what you love no matter what anyone else thinks. That's the mistake I made back in H.S. When you're out of H.S., it'll seem like an entire world away, it does for me. Medication helps too, that's when things started to improve for me. It didn't take away my personality but I actually felt like I could start being myself even more and focus on what I wanted to focus on, not on my worries about my social status.

I have been out of HS for 5 years know, but I can still remember being reffered to as weird. I even started to belive it myself. Now I think being weird is a gift, or an advantage. I like me, and how i am and what I do. If u don't well then to bad. To me there is no such thing as "normal." What is normal, define it, no two people will have the same answer. Its like saying something must be "perfect" again what is perfect to u? Its dfferent to everyone. Just keep on being yourself!

This went on for me all my schooldays until my big flip out...I bottle my emotions (big problem) and a "stoner" threw a rock at my truck, insulted both of my best friends (one female who I'm a "brother-type" to) and then persisted to mess with me. It took about 10 seconds into the verbal abuse until I cracked, knocked him down and just kept hitting him. He ended up crying and I got pulled off him by my friend and one of his buddies.
After that, they avoided me, me only, for a week or two. They ended up hitting my "lil sis type" and I returned the favor in-front-of all his friends, female friends, and pretty much the rest of the highschool. They haven't done anything since then.

I was always considered weird. SO i just got used to it and played with the act and im in okay shape

yeah i think that's the general way of being when you have ad(hd). youre considered weird. all the other kids know youre different, and you dont nkow why, and if you dont know you have add.. YOU dont know why!


i actually saw this from the "other side'' over the last few months. there is this guy at uni, and i thought he was weird. i had no problem with him, just he's weird and i didnt know why. i came up in conversation, OTHER people considered him real weird, and none of us could quite pick it.
i knew that his weirdness was something i could relate to (and at this point i didnt know i had add either...),
then a few months later, after the topic of ad(hd kids came up in a lecture (we both study education), he confided in me that he "used to have" adhd (obviosly theres no such thing as USED TO have... it doenst go away, not even at night time....),
and so it clicked then, THATS why he seems weird.

i was thinking baout this the other day, and other people still think he's weird. i wont break our non-spoken but obvious confidence in this, and tell others "yeah well he has adhd ok, so stop f***ing speculating over it!!"

and, it's just interesting to see things from the OTHER SIDE! and i wonder if this is how people spoke about me when i was in school (and how people still speak abotu me now).

in high school i was the person who
- felt weird and didnt fit in, but was not particularly considered a "loser" or "nerd" of sorts, just different and strange.
- was a target of bullying and slander
- was silently and secretly respected by most individuals, but the group's accepted conseusus was that i was not socially accetable, and was just weird.

Sighs...Not sure where to begin. I was always "different" from my peers, and didn't understand why. I said things people thought, but didn't say outloud. I wrote things at a young age that adults said were thought provoking, and yet they seemed a little weary that I was writing them as a young child. I wasn't diagnosed until I was 28. Then it all started to click into place for me.

Was I weird? Probably. Did that make me a bad person? No. It doesn't make any of you bad people either.

One thing I learned in adolescent psychology that I have never forgotten is that during the teen years, kids reject what their families believe, and cling to their peer groups. The books all said that the key to surviving is to conform to the peer group. Well...I didn't believe what my family believed, but I also didn't want to conform to a peer group in order to be accepted. I just wanted to be me, and be liked for who that person is. People are afraid of what they don't understand, I think. Anyone who seems to be deliberately different during a time when everyone is striving to conform like flocks of sheep must be shunned... And even though those of us who were shunned know the pain this can cause--would you really have been any other way? So you don't wear shoes...I say as long as you aren't getting frostbite, good for you, if it makes you happy! (For the record, I never wear socks--even in high school, and all through college, none. I went to school in a state with a great deal of snow, and still didn't wear them.)

Your posts really touched a chord with me, because not only did it remind me of my own school experiences, but something just like this came up last week in one of my classes. I have a strict policy that students leave their egos at the door when they come in. I don't care what "group" you hang out with, the minute you cross the threshhold, everyone is equal. No one is allowed to mock anyone else in my presence. A student was wearing a necklace made of some type of metal, fastened by a padlock. He had written statements all over his leather jacket. Here is one that was prominently displayed on the back: "Please don't kill me." He had a container with him filled with materials for playing Dungeons and Dragons. Seated next to him was one of the star athletes in the same grade. There was a clear look of dislike on his face for the student with the necklace. I closely observed their interactions, and when it became apparent the athelete was going to say things about the other's personal appearance and Dungeons and Dragons materials, I stepped in. I asked him, "hey do you like cd rom interactives where you get to use your imagination?" (yes) "do you like movies that are based heavily on fantasy and science fiction?" (yes) "wow, then you would love Dungeons and Dragons...you should ask (other student's name here) about it, because this is what came before cd rom interactives."

Instead of an ugly exchange where one bullied the other, they had a conversation about what Dungeons and Dragons is about. The boy who was usually taunted got a moment to explain to a captive audience (finally!) about something for which he has a great deal of passion , and the other boy learned that they actually have something in common.

The athelete came to me later, full of confusion. (but he dresses so weird, and he says such weird things...?) I said, "and you never say anything someone else may find weird, or wear clothing someone else may not like to wear? (i could see the wheels turning in his eyes as he considered this) do either of these things make you a bad person?" (no) "should someone not take the time to know who you are, because you seem different than they are?" (no) "then you have learned a very valuable lesson...your class mate may look and dress differently...but he is a person, just like you. Instead of immediately turning your back on him for this, do what you did today...take the time to find out who the person inside him really is. you may find out that person is a lot like you."

Part of why I became a teacher is because of experiences much like the ones many of you have posted in this forum. I remember how much it hurt every day to be "different." Being a teacher allows me the opportunity, every day, to reach out to all the students and show them that being different can be a very cool thing ;) ...something to embrace. I may not reach them all, but if I reach even one, then it was worth the effort.

Hold your head up high, and know that all of life is not like high school. It gets MUCH better. The fact that you are already able to be yourself, in spite of a lack of acceptance for your differences from your peers, tells me that you are so much further ahead of the game than they are at this point. Here's hoping that they catch up eventually :), and see that you are a wonderful person!

Part of why I became a teacher is because of experiences much like the ones many of you have posted in this forum. I remember how much it hurt every day to be "different." Being a teacher allows me the opportunity, every day, to reach out to all the students and show them that being different can be a very cool thing ;) ...something to embrace. I may not reach them all, but if I reach even one, then it was worth the effort.

I can ONLY hope that my daughter is lucky enough to have teachers like you, as she goes through her years in school. What an awesome example you set. :)

Being normal is boring, most of the most interesting people I've met have had some sort of mental disorder :D

Being normal is boring, most of the most interesting people I've met have had some sort of mental disorder :D
LOL:D That's so true.........think of all the great writers and actresses.....

First off, do you feel good about yourself? I mean if your happy with yourself(no matter how werid people think you are) ........does it really matter?

Second, do you think there is something you can do to fix this? Do you want to? I'm not you so I can't answer those questions ,but it is something to think about.

I have never been referred to as weird. But you shouldn't have to take that from them stand up to them or something ( I know you have heard this all before). They are probably teasing you because they get a reaction from you or you are (*** forbid) a loner. Don't let it get to you, when I'm insulted I get over it very fast. The best thought is " they are the jacka*** and they are the weird ones and they are the only ones who tease you.

Another thing that works ( i know from experience) is harsh language like "F off" or something because they are usally quite suprised to hear you say it and it works better if you say it loudly.

Of course you could just go to a teacher but from my experince you get a better self of steam if you beat them on your own. :)

Good luck.

The opposite sex, the "smarter" ones I believe, dig the "wierd." They are somewhat fascinated with the wierd ones although they might not tell. You stand out to the "aware." But, you must be confident with your wierdness. Hmm, I will stand fast to my words. I truly think this is true. Some people tend to confuse wierdness with originality/courage.

What do you guys have to say about this? Any thoughts?

*sigh* I cried myself to sleep almost every night of junior high because kids teased me all the time, I was a weird freak, and I don't know why. I even went through a process to be accepted to go to a different high school a few towns over so I could "start over" and not have to deal with those people anymore. But in high school I just met new people to make fun of me :( kids can be so mean :mad:

The opposite sex, the "smarter" ones I believe, dig the "wierd." They are somewhat fascinated with the wierd ones although they might not tell. You stand out to the "aware." But, you must be confident with your wierdness. Hmm, I will stand fast to my words. I truly think this is true. Some people tend to confuse wierdness with originality/courage.

What do you guys have to say about this? Any thoughts?
my fiance and I both "walk on the other side of the tracks" so I guess you could say that's why we are attracted to each other. I've never quite gotten over the mean-ness of people in high school and if I see some of those people the hurt still comes back, but it's nice to know I've found someone who loves me for me, and all my "wierdness" lol that I've now come to embrace :D

you can't stop the way people think about you, you can only stop the way you let yoursef react to it..... I wish it were really that easy:rolleyes:

my fiance and I both "walk on the other side of the tracks" so I guess you could say that's why we are attracted to each other. I've never quite gotten over the mean-ness of people in high school and if I see some of those people the hurt still comes back, but it's nice to know I've found someone who loves me for me, and all my "wierdness" lol that I've now come to embrace :D

you can't stop the way people think about you, you can only stop the way you let yoursef react to it..... I wish it were really that easy:rolleyes:Hence, opposites attract..No one likes normal. Even if they don't know it. And since everyone seems to think they know what they want, they constantly look for that "something." They will never find what they are looking for as long as they try to find it. They almost always end up a completely different person compared to the one they dreamed themselves with. Usually, when you spend all of your energy looking for something you never usually find it anyway.

My suggestion: Do not listen to your brain, simply observe. Keep watch for signs.

I hope i can find someone. Like who you described. That would be as much as I would ever be able to possibly want.

i found that what was conciderd "weird" in school sudenly became an advantage outside of school. Specialy in college where i was studying with likeminded people. Like most people say, just remember school doesnt last forever and school isnt the be all and end all of everything although it can be depressing just waighting for the years to pass by. Good luck with your school and try to concentrate on your grades. Can be hard for someone with ADhD / ADD but grades are imprtant (i learned that the hard way) and even if you get hassle of others because your working and their not its because they feel infirior to you because their failing and your passing and that intimidates them, which they hate. Anyway, good luck with life.

They will never find what they are looking for as long as they try to find it. They almost always end up a completely different person compared to the one they dreamed themselves with. Usually, when you spend all of your energy looking for something you never usually find it anyway.

My suggestion: Do not listen to your brain, simply observe. Keep watch for signs.

I hope i can find someone. Like who you described. That would be as much as I would ever be able to possibly want.
Exactly, a good point made.... once you stop trying it will happen. I know it's hard to imagine but that is how it happened for me. lol. once I gave up, thought it was hopeless that's how my Tramp came into my life... remember the harder you try the less you see what's really infront of you.

take care,
Pigeon

Look i used to my the freaak with the scares on her arm we knwo what you are going through everything willbe okay

Yep, I'm referred to as weird very often. It doesn't really bother me all that much, though. I've gotten used to the idea of it, and the labeling.
**Sigh** Highschool drama. . .

because I don't wear shoes all the time, etc. People!
I know, this is a little out of context, but i love not wearing shoes! its great! but

yeah, i hate being called wierd or sketchy, or scatty, it makes me really self-

concious and its at times like that when i really would like to wake up one day

with another personality. but then i think, hell no that would be way boring,

actually not having adhd, i would hate it, i love adhd (sometimes) you can make

the most boring days into so much fun, even just by yourself.:)

I know, this is a little out of context, but i love not wearing shoes! its great! but

yeah, i hate being called wierd or sketchy, or scatty, it makes me really self-

concious and its at times like that when i really would like to wake up one day

with another personality. but then i think, hell no that would be way boring,

actually not having adhd, i would hate it, i love adhd (sometimes) you can make

the most boring days into so much fun, even just by yourself.:)




that is just so true...