Being a nerd can be tough. People will tell you you’re wasting your life and ask why you don’t go out and be with people in real life more often, for example in bars and clubs. But some of us just aren’t into that sort of thing.

Frankly, everyone gets enjoyment from different things; so to say someone is wasting their life for liking video games is ridiculous. Life is tough and can be unpleasant, so everyone needs some way to escape, and for a lot of nerds it’s through video games.

One thing I constantly hear from people is, “You’re wasting your life playing video games!” Well, what about the people who are asking? They’re wasting their lives watching TV (usually crappy reality shows that won’t teach them anything) or movies and shows designed to entertain the average American, material that’s so simple that you can miss huge chunks of it and still know what’s going on because it’s paced so slow and handed to you so easily.

Another common judgment I hear is, “You should go out and do stuff with your friends!” Well, once again, we live in America, so my friends likely live a good distance from me, even if we’re in the same town. Suburbs are so stretched out that going to your friend down the street who’s 30 houses down might be a two-mile walk. If you and your friends live in the older parts of San Francisco that were planned prior to road designs catering to the automobile, you probably don’t have this problem. If you live in places like San Bruno, Pacifica, Daly City or Half Moon Bay, you probably know this problem all too well. Even if you do go out, there’s not a whole hell of a lot to do, especially before you’re 21.

Why go to a bar or club? So I can end up hooking up with some random chick that made a drunken mistake? Or worse yet, that I made a drunken mistake hooking up with? Honestly, with the price of alcohol in bars, I could find a lot better things to do with my money that would last for longer periods of time, and meeting dating potential in a bar isn’t really a good excuse because generally a bar is not a good place to meet someone for a long-term relationship.

I’m starting to get really annoyed by people who treat nerds as if we have some kind of mental disorder. It’s just that we find enjoyment in different ways. How many of you know someone who makes models, such as of trains or boats? How do you think they would feel if you told them they’re wasting their life away? How do you think an artist would feel if you told them they’re wasting their life away by painting? How about telling a librarian they’re wasting their life away by reading?

But think about what I mentioned before about how distance is a problem for a lot of people. I blame parts of American society for creating so many of us nerds because there just really wasn’t that much to entertain us growing up considering how far apart everyone was living and how lacking public transportation was.

Being a nerd is a way of life, and we’re taking over with our tech savvy and our growing numbers. So get used to us, because you’ll be hearing a lot from us.