Hi everyone! Here’s another nerdy post from the self-proclaimed nerdiest person in Bakersfield. I often feel like a loser… a NERD!!! If only I could rewind time and experience the typical high school escapades, maybe I’d have a family like most adults do. But instead, I chose to focus on my studies, and as a result, I felt rejected by everyone around me. No matter where I go, people avoid sitting next to me or being near me because I’m seen as weird. At this point, I’ve come to terms with my oddness and my behavior that prompts comments like, “Dude??!! You’re ODD!” I’ve resigned myself to a life of solitude, dreaming about things that might seem unconventional. It saddens me that the only relationship where I genuinely loved someone was sabotaged by the “cool kids.” This is often the reality when you date someone who is “in the loop,” especially when you’re not. If you don’t fit into the “winners circle,” you're often left out, no matter how great of a partner you are. The “Winners Circle” is reserved for those with established coolness and who have earned their place by engaging in socially accepted behaviors. Despite being just as capable and responsible as these "cool" individuals, I find myself excluded. To be accepted in that circle, you have to smoke weed (which seems to be mandatory) and drink alcohol (a definite requirement in Bakersfield). If you don’t drink in American society, you aren’t allowed in the “Winners Circle,” regardless of your financial success. The reality is that “nerds are not allowed to win,” and this is a rule that many “cool” people in Bakersfield adhere to. Additionally, as a nerd, you risk being ostracized in your profession because of the stereotype that “gamer nerds” lack ambition. Even if you do have ambition, it can be undermined just because of that label. The only people deemed worthy in the “Winners Circle” seem to be older, often scruffy men who indulge in drinking. Meanwhile, someone like me, who has been responsible with substances since a young age, is still excluded, simply because I don’t fit the usual mold. It’s disheartening because those who deny me a place in this world are the same people I care for as a caregiver and medical assistant. Society expects someone my age to be focused on relationships and sex, but when I’m not, I’m just labeled a nerd destined for failure. It seems similar to how Tim Tebow was overlooked in the NFL! As an Incel, I hate this world…as much as this world hates me Till next time this Uber-nerd says “Mahalo!”