Are you embarrassed in what you do ?

[jonnie drake]

good on you for sticking at it mate, Im 20 and have grown up doing my own thing. I have had a passion for fishing since I was three, I was lucky enough to get in with a good group of close knit friends who enjoy the same stuff. I still get the **** taken out of me for stuff like this, but I couldn't care less, especially when they see me doing this sort of stuff and end up being fascinated by it all. Like others have said it takes guts to stand up for your own thing, keep on keeping on mate your braver than you realise dont let them get you down. At the end of the day who's wearing the bigger smile

 

[ikesdad]

Where I live, at your age, to not head out in the hills is considered odd.
Do it now cause the task of putting food on the table and keeping a roof over the heads of your family will occupy most of your time later.
Some of my fondest memories from that period in my youth was spent in the woods.

If it really bothers you or if you want to throw others off, go buy a cheap metal detector to be seen taking along on your forays out. That might be a bit more acceptable. It will surely screw with their heads.

At 14 I bought an old mauser and a bag full of ammo for my trips, but the other kids did similar.

At your age peer pressure can be tough at times, at my age....who gives a rats azz.

Follow your heart.

 

[Martyn]

Absolutely, better doing that than being stuck in front of the TV and wearing your thumb joints out on a Playstation controller.

You talking from experience there Martyn?

Nahhhh, we were different dress sizes, my feet were too big for her shoes and her lipstick wasn't my colour.

 

[tim_n]

Im 16 and being up in the woods all the time and learning about them is'nt the coolest thing to be doing at my age. When others ask " What were you doing up there with a steel billy can ?" i find it hard to reply because i feel that they wont understand or consider it as nerdish. I usally make up some mumbo jumbo on the spot. What do you guys do in a situation like this ?

say "burnin' stuff, you?" & show 'em your knives...

 

[Jus_like_that]

Don't worry about it, just be straight up about it, doesn't matter what age you are people still take the p***, but you just learn to laugh along with them. In fact, when you do talk about it, openly and knowingly peoples attitudes change and instead of giving you a hard time for it, they start to ask questions about it.

Before you know it you'll be everyones first choice to be stranded on an desert island with! well... you and Angelina Jolie lol

 

[Timbo]

call me nerd, call me weird, but I'd rather be in the woods phaffing about than watching x-factor (phaffing about is a technical term for my own bushcrafting skills). Its great seeing young chaps like yourself into BC and the outdoors, keep it up and enjoy as life is too short. Just think you can invite some girls up to the woods to see your firelighting skills makes it all a bit cooler. Also apart from my wife I keep my bushcraft/camping to myself as I can't be ars*d explaingin stuff to boring non-bc folk.

 

[_mark_]

Be confident in who you are, what you do and why you do it. If they ask what you've been up to - tell them. If they laugh, laugh with them - be chilled and enjoy a bit of banter about it, if they take the p**s, take it back but keep it friendly.

Excellent advice!

 

[Loenja]

never really bothered me that other people think im weird, they always have and probably always will im simply different.

 

[Rumi]

Whats cool, whats not cool? I have no TV, no play station thingy and am surrounded by wetlands, woods and open country with wildlife, food and medicine all round.. Sure, some people think Im weird, but then when my 5 year old daughter can use a firesteel and my 9 year old son teachers teenagers at our local community camp the basics of bowdrill and firesteel, its suddenly not weird. Be proud of what you do and know you are living how you want and should.. follow your heart!

 

[backpacker]

People call me wierd because of my interests in bushcraft and survival, but like you I love the outdoors, my eldest son seems to be following me in my footsteps but as for the other son he loves all the computer games! but he did say just the other day he would like to have a go at wild camping? so I could get him interested sometime in the future.....watch this space!

 

[Magicman2]

The answer I'd give is "I am going to have a brew, do you want one?", but make no mistake peoples ignorance will never change no matter who they are, I am a 49 man married second time around, two young kids so you think I'd be past all this, but even my sister turns to me and says, "who do you think you are Ray Mears or something, aren't you a bit too old to go and play in the woods"

So I geuss what I am saying is just ignore them and get on and do what YOU want, not what they expect!

 

[drewdunnrespect]

this thread reminds me of a sayiing me grandad had

and it went " never be a sheep and follow just be a cow and lead the way and remember if no one follows they werent worth bothering with" cos you will eventually find like minded soles I.E this place

 

[Extreme Pilgrim]

My belief is that in this materialistic, TV obsessed culture, the people that are likely to judge you are the self-same people that are missing the world outside of their four walls. Some people could see the merits of the outdoor life if you took the time to sit them down and tell them about the virtues of becoming one with nature and those types of people could be swayed to participate themselves. Knowing that waking at dawn and watching the day unfold, whilst armed with a brew, is much better than Jeremy Kyle. Then again, there are the others who just miss the point and my joy in having those people amongst is that their lack of involvement means that land is not over-used and cluttered with people. We cannot all be the same and its a case of 'whatever floats your boat' so I wont judge them and they shouldn't do the same.

Besides, if there was ever a 'survivalist' scenario, those people would be toast.

 

[Retired Member southey]

I think your spot on there EP, it's definatly an each to there own game,life, and if your can spread a bit of knowhow and mabey get others interested all's the better.

 

[MSkiba]

Bushcraft is a lot damn better than playing world of warcraft, your not a nerd!