The Learning Process: Being Judged

Hajime mashite! Watashi no namae wa, Rekari desu! Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu!
I've been practicing my Japanese!

   Hello everyone! It's been a while since I've had the time to sit down and write. I've been having a great time at college, and I'm learning a lot, but there's a few things I've picked up. While college is not as judgmental as high school, you still get talked about, criticized and the like. Through my encounters I've learned quite a bit about myself and others.  So today I'm creating a new category of the blog, known as the The Learning Process. Yep, you guessed it. I'm going to discuss all the things I've learned (and still learning) throughout my otaku life. If you can relate, have feedback, or anything else, just comment below. I'm all ears!

"Do you like anime?"

   Like I mentioned, I've been struggling with a really big story. I want it to be amazingly good, but I just couldn't make it flow. It relates to being an otaku, and how certain life experiences have affected me. The truth about being an otaku, is that it's not easy. You're going to be judged, you're going to be laughed at, people will take your hobbies as joke. You might even be told you have problems. Not very nice huh? Sadly, it happens, but it's okay. I'll use myself for an example.

   I recently just started college a few weeks ago. One of my biggest fears when starting was not being able to find someone like me. I had no clue what to expect of the people there. Well, things didn't play out that bad, but there's not many people here with the same hobbies. So I just went with the flow, hoping for a miracle of some sort. Of course it didn't happen.

   After I felt more comfortable, I started to display my hobbies. Figurines, posters, manga, videos, and anime gathered in my dorm room. People thought it was weird and began to question my habits. It's almost like being under constant surveillance, because you simply like something that's different. I couldn't hold up my phone due to Luka Megurine lining my case. If I did I was questioned who she was, why was she there, and much more. It became a nuisance.

"WHAT?"

  "Why do you have those cartoons all over your phone?" I simply like them, is that a problem? Most people didn't have a problem with these and simply disregarded them. Yet a few made rude remarks on my interests, saying I should have pictures of "real" people.
 
   The same continued with my poster and figurines. People wanted to see them for themselves. They wanted to look at them and criticize them. Almost as if everything was a joke. It's somewhat of a double standard really, It's fine to have a half-naked model on your wall, but if you have a modestly dressed anime character you're weird.

   Sure, it sounds all bad, but the point I'm making is that it doesn't matter what other people think. When I was younger, I would say the same thing. The only difference was, in high school you were exiled if you didn't conform to the norm. I feel like habits of having to hide or water down interests still plague me to this day.

Be yourself, without any care!

   So throughout these experiences, my brain is ticking. I learned a bit more about how society works. They make us believe it's bad to be different, but that's not necessarily the case. By being different you're just taking the harder, yet more rewarding path. It starts as early as elementary school. They tell us that our dreams are crazy and that we should come back to "reality." Who do they think they are to tell us what we can do?

   Slowly everything has been making sense. Life seems so much sweeter when you enjoy the things you love. So to my fellow otaku, don't worry about the thoughts and actions of others. Don't worry if you aren't pleasing someone. Just do what feels right and what makes you happy, as long as you aren't hurting someone else in process!

See you guys soon! Matane!