keepin certain interests to myself

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Does anyone else ever feel uncomfortable about sharing their obsessions and interests...even though that alot of people out there probably like the same things you do?...even if not sharing certain interests would prevent you from making possible friends?

I had this problem a good part of my life.

I was still a cartoon/kids show junkie even in my middle school years. I was also into country music. But at the time I was attending an urban middle school where you could get beaten up for liking that kind of stuff. That could explain everything I suppose.

Now I fear sharing my interests due to teasing and the like. Certain shows I watch I don't tell people I watch or care to discuss (no matter how much the aspie in me wants to). A lot of stuff I cant really enjoy anymore knowing that alot of people enjoy them (past examples: jazz, anime, artsy stuff).

I dont even bother telling people what kind of forums I joined even though it's like a hundered different forums filled with tons of people. I guess I am that shy.

i'm a closet reality-show fanatic. i rarely even mention that here. it's embarrassing.

sometimes, i can't seem to stop sharing. others are so solitary--crossword puzzles, for example--that it's actually difficult to even know how broach the subject with others.

(am enjoying the lateral thinking puzzle thread, though.)

maybe all of that's largely irrelevant. if there is a point, it's: i don't think it's unusual to keep some interests more or less to yourself.

Yeah, keeping some interests to one's self is largely normal. And there's different reasons for different interests. And there's probably some you would keep to yourself with some people and not with some others.

I love SpongeBob and Ed, Edd, and Eddy. But once you've told someone that, where can the conversation go? Unless you're talking to someone like me, of course.

Hmm. Maybe it's best not to share special interests because we (or at least I) tend to monologue about it at great length until the people in the room and clawing to get out.

I watch the Simpsons and South Park, as well as indie/foreign films.

I am also a Christian, and vote Republican.

The neo-cons shun me because of my interests. People who have the same interests as me, who are primarily liberal, shun me because of my religious and political beliefs.

So there's nobody I fit in with. Finding people who like the things I like, and who are also Christian and vote Republican, is impossible. Those are preferred for friends, and required for a romantic relationship (and the future partner would have to be an Aspie as well, given my poor track record with NTs).

Tim_Tex. If you can't fit in with other South Park and Simpsons fans, it is probably because you're a Christian and these two shows and their usual fan bases are VERY anti-religious.

Examples: Jesus being in Imaginary Land in South Park.

Reverend Lovejoy telling Flander's, "Oh Ned, haven't you tried any of the other religions? They're all basically the same."

The Creationism vs. Evolution episode of The Simpsons.

I could go on with this list, but I won't. I hope you don't see my statement as insulting your religion, because I'm not trying to. I'm just stating how anti-religious these two shows are, and how fans of these shows are usually anti-religious as well.

As for keeping interests to myself, I usually don't. However, when I do reveal them, I end up becoming a laughing stock. During my Junior year of high school, I started telling people about my Godzilla obsession, and 95% of the whole school teased me about it until I finally graduated. There was this one idiot who constantly made fun of EVERYTHING I was obsessed with, and just wouldn't shut up. Being the pacifist that I am, I had him sent to the office. He never made fun of me again (or at least not in front of me).

You'd be surprised.

Most Christians are well aware that those shows are purely for entertainment, and that South Park is a social commentary.

I don't talk about my interests to other people unless somebody wants to talk about it, or they ask me about what I like to do. That way, I know I can't bore them with my hobbies. Instead, I try to talk about what they like to do or a common activity like watching movies, which can be hard at times.