I can go you one further...I had that problem when I was in kindergarten..in 1984.....when the Muppets were at the height of their popularity. OK, the difference was that everybody knew who Fozzie, Bert, Ernie, Gonzo, etc. were but they didn't care. I had a lot of kids in Kindergarten and first grade with me who thought Muppets were for babies. But it was weird. As we all grew up, people sort of came back to it...like waking memories and suddenly people came to me and would ask 'What was the name of...." and "what are the lyrics to..." I got real lucky in that around 7th grade one of the 'cool kids' (who was a real nice guy) would wait inside his house every morning for the bus and would end up watching Sesame Street with his little sister. And he took a liking to it. It gave him a connection to his sister and a lot of it made him laugh (this was back maybe a year after Henson died so si itw as real importabnt to the producers to utilize alot of the old sketches). So suddenly my liking it was not 'so weird' Then finally when I was in high school I started building puppets and being in the drama club and started to stand out in a different way and a few folks started to respect that. I mean not everyone. I was never "mr. Cool" but a lot of people started to see that I was serious and that I was following something I believed in and it was 'different' but not in a bad way. There turned out to be quite a few who were happy to see me following a dream and respected that. I remember one young lady who I barely ever talked to in high school, and to this day can only recall one heated, angry exchange with, who later came up to me at graduation and told me how happy she was to see me follow my dream and how I always made her laugh in English class. took me by complete surprise! People didn't necessarily 'get it' but they knew that I was going to be very happy with my life and that I could make others happy too. I dunno. All I rememeber was that there was this point in high school where it got a little easier.
Anyway, my advice is this, don't get angry and don't try to defend it. You can't....not always. People are afraid of things they don't understand. And high school kids like to be cruel and like to see you get upset. They like confrontation. I know this sounds weird but you've got to rise above it. There's an old saying "The best revenge is happiness" and it may sound cliche , but it's true. Sometimes you have to earn their respect before you can get people to listen. Yeah Jamie's renewed interest in SS when we were 13 helped, but it wasn't really until I was 15 and doing theater and building puppets that people saw I was serious and started to pay attention and listen.
I should also say that a lot of the people who look like your biggest adversaries now, may become your biggest supporters in the end. A LOT of the people who ended up encouraging me in the end were people who I DID NOT get along with at first and I had to work hard for their respect...a lot of them I kind of miss a little. So don't count people out just yet. They may surprise you.
Last piece of advice, be greatful for those around you who DO get it and support you and let them know you appreciate that. Teachers, friends, family. Especially teachers. The ones who get it and see it will push you and find a niche for you. They'll help. As for friends and family, I have a support network of both who have become invaluable to me. I wouldn't be where I am now without them. Some of them pushed me ot better to myself cause they knew i could do more and they card and those who didn't push me taught me in other ways. I read something once that said basically that the people we meet and make friends with are there for a reason. There is something we are supposed to learn from them. I've learned from those people and I continue to learn form those people and the examples they've shown me. If you can, it doesn't hurt to meet a few puppeteers too. They can co-miserate. Sadly, we live in a society where puppets are thought of as 'children's fare' and Jim Henson knew that he kind of contributed to that. But puppeteers are good cause they understand. they've been there. It's funny. I have a lot of 'professional firendships' that I like and I try to keep contact with, bur truthfully some of my best friends are non-puppeteers. I don't know why that is. but ya know, just surround yourself with good people and be greatful for them.
I don't know if any of this has helped, or I've just yammered on for a while. Don't let it get you down. All we can do is figure out how to best spend the time that we are given. Enoy!! Live! Love!! Go forward and just become the best person you can. You'll find your circle. you'll find your niche.
Peace, Matt
Welcome to the Muppet Central Forum!
Back to the Rock Season 2
Sesame Street Season 54
The Muppets Mayhem premieres
Bear arrives on Disney+
Sam and Friends Book
) But, now most of my friends are all riding the little nostalgia trend, & talking a/b all this stuff that *I* was into at 12!!!! Guess I was just ahead of the trend.....
Yes, I taugth them how to brush a braid her hair. And yes, I was and still am a very strange kid!