Things you would be embarrassed to admit in terms of your own general interests
 

I had this discussion with one of my fellow co-workers just the other day. We all have our individual interests due to all of our own different tastes.

You know despite the things we like I'm sure there are some things such as movies, video games, music, television shows and even general hobbies that would cut us down a notch on the coolness factor.

That is the purpose of this topic. I just want everybody to have a little fun and trust me when I mention the things that I enjoy but I would be to embarrassed to admit I'll have a lot of heat headed my way. I just don't give a shit.

The things that I enjoy but would be to embarrassed to admit are:

1.) I'm a fan of the show Survivor and my fiance hates me for it. I just always enjoyed the show since it first aired. I actually didn't enjoy it at first, because I thought it was just some new show that everybody jumped on the popular bandwagon. It wasn't until very late in the first season that I actually caught it for the first time. Its actually not my favourite reality show. I prefer the Amazing Race over Survivor. Even to sound more pathetic, I'd love to try out for it. I probably wouldn't do very well in it, but oh well.

2.) I collect Yu-Gi-Oh cards. I've been into the game since it first got released in North America. I haven't played the game in over 2 years, but I still collect the cards. I may get back into the game once I get back home for good. My fiance actually was actually into the game to, but she gave it up about 4 years ago. I actually met my fiance for the first time at a yu-gi-oh tournament. She was actually a really good player, I remember her telling me that she was actually one of the top female players in canada once upon a time.

It's not that I'd be embarrassed to admit this, but it's mainly that my peers wouldn't believe me anyway. And it's that I actually study to obtain the grades that I have. I think that's the main thing these days for me in terms of maintaining the coolness factor. My classmates really make it known that they study a lot since we're all in the medical field and it's necessary to keep up with the demands of the work, but I don't really verbalize anything as much as they do. I also tend to keep any possible anxiety to myself and I don't share how I studied for things. The combination of not stressing out too much in front of them along with the way I carry myself in the classroom probably give them this image of me as someone who just does really well without needing to study much.

In terms of general interests, I suppose people would find it odd that I listen to music from the 80s and early 90s from time to time.

There are a few niche-specific things that I'm embarrassed to admit to -- and by niche I mean that they are things that I'm rather loathe to fess up to around certain groups of people (like the classical music set).

1) I was inspired to play classical music by John Williams scores and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera. This may not seem so bad, but every time it's slipped into a conversation with a fellow classical musician, they look at me like I'm some sort of heathen and tell me never to admit that truth about me. But hey, I was in like, 3rd grade. My parents are from the 60s/70s, they didn't listen to a lot of classical music when I was growing up except for ALW -- and I loved Jurassic Park and Hook, dammit.

2) Yaoi. It depends on the company, of course, but then again, the subject doesn't pop up very often. I can extend this to pornographic pictures in general, simply because I don't seem like the type to look at that kind of stuff. Most of it I just find amusing, but people don't really understand that when they run across a folder of the stuff on my computer :eagletear:...

Well, outside of IRC, I've never admitted to anyone that I like hentai. (And of course, those people are someones I'm unlikely to ever meet.)

I played D&D tonight. I think it's going to be weekly.

I like to cry at movies.

Most of my friends are males with whom crying is pretty much taboo. I play the game and pretend like fiction doesn't affect me... but it does, and I really enjoy watching some movies alone just to have a good cry because it feels good.

I quite enjoy the Pokemon games and rpgs in general. That's not something I generally broadcast in real life (Although I do know a few people who share my nerdy secret. One guy I know admitted to having beaten all the dark Aeons in FFX which is a pretty impressive feat of geekdom). You do get funny looks when you're trading Pokemon in the pub though.

Well for one, that I enjoy playing the Pokémon games albeit being very simple and not having changed much at all. Not that I play the games very often as a series nor do I buy any of the games myself. In any case it's not something that I'd tell to most people unless they seem to be open minded gamers themselves.

I'm not embarrassed to say that I like to watch anime/read manga, but surely there are a few series that I'd be embarrassed or unwilling to tell that I like, especially to people that don't know nothing about anime and manga. I'm sucker for shoujo/romance series, and I wouldn't even attempt in trying to explain what shoujo manga really is like and why I like it to most people.

I absolutely love cute and adorable things so damn much that I go crazy when I see something real cute. I get this real warm and fuzzy feeling inside when I see a cute kitten or a little toddler taking it's first steps. All you men in here should know why this is something you'd not tell to your average male friend or well pretty much anyone because they'd most definitely question your sexual preferences (big generalization I know, but you get the idea).

The previous two posters reminded me of this old article: The Escapist : The Tao of Pikachu

Probably worth a read every now and again.

I no longer collect Yu-gi-oh cards, with my last cards coming from some game? I remember I got the Golden Homunculus.

I would be embarrassed to say that; I watch Days of Our Lives when I can, and that I like it. Now it's not even a secret anymore. *sigh*

Not embarrassed by my fondness for DnD and Pokemon.

I used to set the VCR up to tape DBZ before going to school because I was afraid of missing out on a single episode of the fast paced action storyline. I'm currently playing through a game about being a popstar princess or something. If I admitted I enjoyed that I'd have to eat some shards of glass while twirling my chest hair with a hunting knife.

I like Enya.

I like Infernal Monkey.

I'm- I'm not proud of my private shame.

You'll lose your lunch money for admitting something like that!

I live in constant fear that my cool-table friends will find out and shun me, forcing me to eat lunch with that kid that smells like goldfish crackers and medical salve.

Hmm, playing Pokémon is an embarrassing thing to admit? I love the games.

I suppose the thing I would be most embarrassed to admit to is listening to metal and playing air guitar in my computer chair for hours on end. I sometimes sit and do this all the way up to 7 AM, not having slept the previous night. I guess it sort of gives me the image of being a "metalhead".

I like some of those crazy Japanese songs in Dance Dance Revolution.
I'd never tell my friends. When we're playing I agree that the songs suck and pretend not to like them. It's my great shame.

Jeez lets see...I suppose that I kinda try to steer from telling too many people that I like techno, Freezepop especially. Not that I'm really ashamed, just that most of the people I hang out with don't like it or simply don't get it. Honestly, I could say that about alot of the music I like. World music, Rap, hell even some heavy metal. Hmm...some of the video games I really like often draw many, many laughs from friends. Once again, not because they're bad (FF series, Gitaroo Man, Paper Mario [okay maybe]), but because most people just can't find the fun in them.

I'm not really ASHAMED of anything, usually. There's the general shit....Pokemon, hentai, VGM, DDR, etc.

Then there's stuff I don't tell people just because even though I won't be ashamed, I'm pretty sure it'll make them think less of me, or I'll get gruff for it. Like...I love jailbait!
Or the fact that I love listening to Fallout Boy, My Chemical Romance, and The Used.

Fuck you guys, they're awesome!

My worst is probably that I am almost 23, I still go to raves and the worst part, I even rave better than the teenagers on E. (is that an unfair advantage?)

There is no substitute for experience!

I have a weird addiction for watching cooking shows on the food network and you tube, and reading articles about nutrition and health.

Embarrassing things in terms of my general interests huh?

Well, I used to be big in DnD last summer, but unfortunately our campaign came to an abrupt end and I haven't heard anything about a new one. But it was fun and I really loved doing it.
I love watching subtitled anime, but not loads of it like some of the folks on here. Even so, most of my friends have no clue what the hell I enjoy about "reading a TV show".
Battlestar Galactica. I'm probably the only person that I know that watches that show. And as a matter of fact, I get really into it. I like to turn off any thinking-ahead that I might have and just let the story flow as I'm experiencing it. I find it much more enjoyable when I do that. And sometimes I even cry because I get so emotional during the show. I don't know what it is, probably the realism and an attachment to the characters, but I just love it.
I also like playing Magic the Gathering and just started getting back into it.

Yu-Gi-Oh. I loved the earlier episodes, and I still collect the cards. Unlike Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh became the stupid thing to do, so we get tons of jokes around here whenever we hear anything about it. Lately, though, I haven't been playing much at all--not that I could find people to play against to begin with. Half of my cards are effect monsters, complete with paragraphs and paragraphs of special effect directions or whatever. "If blahblah blah, then blah blah blah subtract and double and integrate and bake to get blahblah."
Yeah, you don't even want to know how much I spent on these cards. I think one of my rarer ones went for quite a bit on Ebay, but I'm not planning to sell it.
And I bought the DS and GBA versions of the game. The DS version came with a free card, so I had to get it.

Enya. Gotta roll down the car windows and boost the bass!

FFX. I don't care for the uber-hate bandwagon that loves to destroy noobs sporting a Tidus avatar because, honestly speaking, this game is still one of my all-time favorites. I do admit, however, that a large percentage of the fanbase can tend to get a bit irritating.

Also, Barbra Streisand. <3
That's about it. Come to think of it, I'm not even all that embarrassed about these interests, as I usually have no problem admitting things like this.

For a while, it was pretty hard for me to explain my obsession with jrock, why most if not all of them looked like girls, and why I have gigabytes of images of pretty men on my computer. Since I don't listen to it much anymore, when a picture surfaces for some reason or they hear a song I'm listening to, it all starts again..."Why does he look/dress like a girl? Why do you listen to this even though you don't understand them??"

So now people can mock you on the INTERNET instead of IRL! Yay! Well here's stuff I'd be embarrassed to admit that I enjoy or have:

- Certain shows which are 'supposed to be for Kids' I really get a kick out of, namely Kim Possible and The Spectacular Spider-Man.
- I have both read and written fanfiction before, and not just for the recent contest.
- The sheer number of video games I own, which is a bit embarrasing when you're talking to someone and not on the internet, where that sort of 'obsession' is par for the course.
- I like to randomly browse Wikipedia and other information sites from time to time,
and so sometimes I have to close my browser window in case someone sees me reading.
- That I have porn. Its just not something I like to or try to admit. Sure, call me prudeish but that sort of thing I think should be kept private.

I have actually written (and enjoyed writing) several pornographic stories in the vein of hentai movies. Haha, man. What the fuck.

There's no interest of mine that I'd be embarrassed about because I grew out all of the stupid shit months ago. There's plenty of stuff that I'd damn well sure don't want people to know about, though. As a prospective teacher, internet atrocity tourism, drinking, and my love for GWAR and hip-hop are going to be my biggest liabilities.

Oh, I guess I'd be embarrassed to admit I like anime, because it's gay as shit and all of you know it.

I'm embarased to admit I have danced with my cat ever since she was a small kitten. To this day she starts to purr when I do it.

Also am embarassed to admit that I enjoy anime but never admited it because I saw the anime club members at my college. many of the cute punky, catchy anime songs that are most likely about girle stuff I enjoy in private.

GFF.

You're all thinking it. I'm just saying it.

With lightheartedness in mind, I love b-rated horror movies. I wasn't looking for a scare, if I wanted a real scare, I'll go for movies that held suspense quite well. For example, Freddy Kruger series started out real creepy at the beginning but now, its all laughs.

So in short, I'm ashamed to say that I watch a LOT of terrible movies from time to time. Doesn't mean that I like them all though. I think one just need enough bad movies on his plate to appreciate the good ones at least. Take the bad along with the good etc etc.

Shut up, Brady.

:dover: Video games is dumb! :dovel:

I don't think I have many things that I would personally be embarrassed to admit in terms of my general interests. If I guess there could be a few things about me that the average stranger would think a little odd about me.

I like math. I mean, I like doing math. It seems whenever I have the chance, I'll stay up all night to do statistics and shit. I just find it all fascinating for some reason. Refer to my posts in the Gym Battlers Tournament in the Multiplayer Arena sub-forum in General Video Gaming.

I would be embarrassed to tell anyone that's in my generation that my favorite band is Huey Lewis and the News. I hate most mainstream music of today, I opt for the less popular bands - since they are actually 95% of the music that is composed of. The mainstream music that I do like I discovered before it came mainstream - such as Colbie Caillat and Sara Bareilles, however both of these artists sound nothing like most mainstream music that is out today.

I have a good many of them. My group of friends is made up of mostly people who live very much in the real world, some of them are what you could describe as overtly manly, and many of them are flat out anti-nerd. That being said, there are a number of things i keep under my hat.

I play Magic the Gathering. There are a lot of people i know who don't know this about me, and i can imagine their opinion of me dropping if it ever came up.

I like a lot of really sappy love scenes in movies. Very few people actually know this about me, by Love Actually is easily on my list of top ten movies. It took me forever to buck up the balls to actually buy it and put it in my DVD book case. I get a lot of shocked reactions when people see that. I just say it's for attracting chicks. A lot of my guy friends would be mortified to know this.

I play the Pokemon games. I love them, always have, probably always will. I don't follow anything outside the main series games. I followed the TV show for it's first two years, but lost interest when it was about halfway through the Jhoto continent.

I like, and still listen to the band Creed. Despite the controversies surrounding this band, and their former status as number one sellouts, i used to be a hard core Creed fan. I never really grew out of it, i just stopped listening to them because i had all of their songs memorized. I find that their musical styles match up nicely with what i look for in bands, and the only thing that doesn't really fit is their lack of guitar solos, and extended instrumental sections.

I like Anime. I have three friends who actually actively participate in the watching of anime with me, if it happens. I have one friends who's a casual fan, and basically just watched the Miyazaki films. But every other one of my friends would make fun of me for it, or think i was going nuts. The friends that do know this about me, actually look down on me for it. It's a basic rule in Canada, cartoons are for kids, or they have to be comedies.

I watch Matlock religiously. I dunno but even though it's ridiculously predictable and hokey, it's fun to watch. Plus it's on nearly everyday during the day when nothing but soap operas are on.

I like champagne music, especially Lawrence Welk. And elevator music. That smooth jazz stuff is so funny.

Hahaha...I totally watched Matlock with my mother every day while it was still in syndication in my area :). It must have some redeeming quality: my pet iguana used to come in like clockwork every day at the time when Matlock came on, to watch/listen to it. We would have thought it was a coincidence -- except the lizard adjusted to Daylight Savings Time when the show came on earlier/later. :erm:

And it does beat the hell out of soaps.

I can relate with the Creed thing, as embarrassing as it is to me now. Whenever I have the radio on and a Creed song pops on, I automatically start singing along. It's like running into an old friend you were close to back in the day, but haven't talked to in a long time. However, I never listen to any of the CDs I have.
And I also have exactly three friends who are my "anime people." We have marathons and all that business, and listen to my parents go on and on about how stupid it is. One of them is more of a 'mainstream' anime fan (DBZ and that ilk got him into it) and the other is a Mech-freak (sold his soul to Eva and Robotech) and the other girl is into the more cheesy sappy stuff.

I read self-help books. That's the thing I don't mention to other people.
Somehow it makes me feel inferior having to depend on self-help books to tell me how to interact with other people or how to deal with my past.

...that I've watched over three hundred different animes, and just about all my hobbies/interests past and present for as long as I remember were inspired by an anime...

*sigh*

I would say there really isn't anything that would make me embarrassed to admit. I am generally open to admitting things even if they happen to be slightly "different" or geeky.

I'd say pretty much everything.

To most people who don't know me, I'm pretty much a generic person who doesn't have many interests and one who never talks to anybody. Unless I know and talk to them on a daily basis and they share at least one of my interests, I don't divulge my interests openly. (and even if they shared one of my interests, I'd only return the favor by talking about that interest exclusively.)

That being said, my list of interests:

1. Anime - This would be the biggest one and most obvious one. If the conversation never goes near this, I never try to steer it anywhere near it. I don't say much when the conversation begins to bash it either. This is just for speaking anyway. It's probably a bit obvious if my desktop wallpapers are anime. A lot of anime, I wouldn't mind people straying near, but some I'd only admit to my closest friends (the REALLY cutesy/moe type anime: see Bottle Fairy or Ichigo Mashimaro) The other way this comes up is when people notice I have 6 hard drives and ask why. The result is also embarrassing.

2. J-Pop - Or just Japanese music in general. Fortunately this topic doesn't come up much, and if it does, it's usually in a positive light, as non-fans of the genre won't ever touch the subject.

3. Gaming - Not really all games, but my taste in games. To put it bluntly, I'm a big fan of JRPGs, which is pretty much unheard of in college dorms. With rooms down the hall booming with explosions from Halo 3 or Gears of War and such, I have my fix playing Atelier Iris with Japanese voice acting (somehow, English voice acting seems more embarrassing). The other aspect of this I don't like to admit is enjoying the Pokemon games. It just feels awkward to answer the question "What game are you playing?" with an answer involving "Pokemon".

Depends on the person/people I'm talking to I guess. I'm "guilty" of liking Pokemon, vgm, anime, etc (nothing too "bad" I guess) but it's good to find someone that shares these interests.
I once had to defend LAN gaming amongst some 'cool' friends who thought that it was lame (I *LOVE* LAN parties :P ) heathens, I say!

I have a love of disney movies, my fav is the little mermaid, I even have an ariel throw blanket and a beanie baby buddy pig that's I've had for the past 5 years of so.

There's probably more but I've stopped thinking of them as emabarressing and plus pretty much all you need to know about me has been posted on my other boards.