Who know about your interst in Lego?

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friskywhiskers
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Who know about your interst in Lego?

Post by friskywhiskers »

So I am 15, and have been pretty much involved with lego for my whole life. The thing is, ever since I was 13 I have been keeping my interest in the hobby pretty much secret. The only people who know that I build with lego are my family and some of my elder sibling's friends. I guess the reason why I hide it from my friends and other people my age is because I am afraid they will think it is weird; my peers in general are all very judgmental I do have several people who I I know wouldn't judge, me but I would worry that word would spread.

What about you? Who knows about your involvement in the hobby? Do you publicize, it hide it, or not say anything, but wouldn't feel embarrassed if someone found out? Also do you guys have any advice on how to come out and tell my friends?
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Re: Who know about your interst in Lego?

Post by Elephant Knight »

Pretty much anyone I have had any sort of prolonged contact with. :wink: I don't hide it. I like to show that I am into Lego.

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Re: Who know about your interst in Lego?

Post by Purple Wolf »

Well I've been into Lego my whole life and people who know about it would be my best friends, family and anyone who knows my family. I usually don't tell anyone manly because the conversation never comes up, but more and more people know about it as I get older.

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Re: Who knows about your interest in Lego?

Post by andhe »

People know I have an interest, but most are surprised when they see actually how much I have... (and how much of it has been purchased in the last 5 years... i.e Most of it).

I find most people like lego, even if it's only memories from childhood, and so enjoy a lego store, or the odd story about lego in the newspaper (eg that figure going into 'space' or some giant model). It's not like someone saying 'oh I love killing kittens in my spare time', and generally people are amazed when they see some of the MOCs builders now produce (I think most non-FOLs, think when you say 'I build with lego' think of the rainbow coloured lego magazine models. So it blows their minds to show them things from CCCX for example).
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Re: Who know about your interst in Lego?

Post by OverLoad »

I tell anyone and everyone who's willing to listen. :lol:

Most people either don't really care, or they find it interesting I have such a hobby. If anybody gave me any slack about it, they aren't worth dealing with anyways. :)
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Re: Who know about your interst in Lego?

Post by Bluesecrets »

I happen to be more careful with who has knowledge of most things about me. I think caution with sharing personal information is actually a good policy, especially with the number of mentally ill people in the world and the rise of the stalker. But besides that, there is just something good about having part of you that you don't have to tell every single person in the world. Sharing with the people who matter is good.

AND more importantly, when it comes to ones career, it is actually more beneficial to keep your AFOL status someone quiet. In the day and age of employers are searching facebook and the internet to see what you are doing, keeping your professional life professional is pretty much a must. ESPECIALLY with the fact that anything posted online takes FOREVER to disappear. Which is a little fact some of the TFOL's should think about and start considering.

So no, not everyone knows. And yeah, that's why a lot of you know nothing about me...and I like and keep it that way.

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Re: Who know about your interst in Lego?

Post by RichardAM »

When I was about 15 I stopped building/collecting for better or worse, but I picked it up again maybe four years later once I had a job and found that, yes, I could buy all those 90s Pirate ships i'd missed as a child :tasty:

Now i'm pretty open with it. My family know, my gf knows, and my core group of friends know too- many of which are into warhammer, videogames and other geekery like myself anyway. I don't broadcast my interest of course, but it's definitely not something I shy away from either. If people do ask I will answer honestly.
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Re: Who know about your interst in Lego?

Post by SSchmidt »

I understand being much more reluctant to share it at your age Frisky when your peers are much more judgmental.

I am 24, and quite a few people know that I love LEGO, but they don't know the severity of it (like that I have a whole room JUST for LEGO like must of you other AFOL's). :lol:

My immediate family knows, my in-laws know, my personal friends know, but other than that there are relatively few people. I don't go out telling people, but if anyone is close to me they know about it.

My wife, at first, thought it was a stupid, silly hobby. However, now she actually buys sets and pieces for me as i've converted her to the dark side! :wink:
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Re: Who know about your interst in Lego?

Post by soccerkid6 »

My close friends know and a lot of family, if anyone asked I'd tell them, but for the most part it just doesn't come up in normal conversation :)
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Re: Who know about your interst in Lego?

Post by Bruce N H »

Hey all,

I just wanted to jump in on something Blue said above - those of you who are TFOLs and even younger AFOLs should consider masking your online identity somewhat. If you start now you can establish some sort of nickname that you can use in various forums online (LEGO and otherwise) that can be recognizably you in your various hobby interests, but then when you enter the job market and use your real name it will be clean. When I first got involved in online discussions (back in the days of Usenet - yes, I'm old), I used my real name and e-mail (that's another suggestion - create an e-mail that you use for all your hobby needs and keep it separate from your 'real' e-mail) pretty much everywhere. Then later I had to work pretty hard to clean up my online profile. It's not that I posted anywhere bad, pretty much LEGO stuff, discussion groups related to my favorite authors, some Scouting forums, favorite TV and movie forums, etc. It's just that it used to be when someone Googled my name, the first page was full of hobby stuff. Now when someone Googles my name, the first 29 hits are all professional, which is what I want.

On the question, I don't go out of my way to advertise my hobby. OTOH, occasionally one of my students will run across something and ask if it's me, and I don't deny it. I've also got a few minifigs at my desk at work, but nothing extensive.

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Re: Who know about your interst in Lego?

Post by Justin M »

Everyone in my family and close friends actually think it's pretty neat I enjoy LEGO so much.

Most of my friends now like this hobby too, and many of them have accounts on MOCpages, Flickr, Brickshelf, etc. :)

Being a TFOL, I really don't try to share my interest in this hobby with others who don't have the same interest as me. I'm not saying I won't share my love for it; I'll only bring it up if the situation is correct. So many people my age are very judgmental about one's hobbies. I don't mind being made fun of for liking LEGO, because the majority of the time when someone says they don't like LEGO, or says it's a little kid toy, it's usually because they're in front of other kids their age and don't want to be made fun of as well.
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Re: Who know about your interst in Lego?

Post by SSchmidt »

Bluesecrets wrote:I happen to be more careful with who has knowledge of most things about me. I think caution with sharing personal information is actually a good policy, especially with the number of mentally ill people in the world and the rise of the stalker. But besides that, there is just something good about having part of you that you don't have to tell every single person in the world. Sharing with the people who matter is good.

AND more importantly, when it comes to ones career, it is actually more beneficial to keep your AFOL status someone quiet. In the day and age of employers are searching facebook and the internet to see what you are doing, keeping your professional life professional is pretty much a must. ESPECIALLY with the fact that anything posted online takes FOREVER to disappear. Which is a little fact some of the TFOL's should think about and start considering.

So no, not everyone knows. And yeah, that's why a lot of you know nothing about me...and I like and keep it that way.

Privacy is a wonderful thing and should be respected, not judged.
Professionally speaking, I think this counsel is very wise. Let's be realistic.
Anymore, employers are checking out everything they can about prospective employees. If they get on a facebook, or blog, or something of the sort, and see you are into LEGO's as a hobby.... well, that looks awful on you. Even though there is nothing wrong with it, it can seem childish and unprofessional.

Something everyone should consider, I agree.
Last edited by SSchmidt on Tue May 14, 2013 5:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Who know about your interst in Lego?

Post by AK_Brickster »

Pretty much everyone I'm more than a casual acquaintance with knows me as their go-to "Lego guy". I don't have any reason to hide it, and I enjoy sharing my hobby with others. Sure, a few people might say, "dude, you're really nerdy about Lego", but who cares? I embrace my nerdiness! Just about everyone has something that they are nerdy into, be it video games, collecting stamps/coins, even stuff like being super into guns/cars/NASA/Football/etc. Anything that you get really excited about will be viewed as weird by someone else, so why hide who you are?

So I guess with that said, if you're a bit nervous about your hobby, don't go broadcasting it to everyone, but there isn't any real reason to go to great lengths to hide it either. The people who judge you for it probably aren't worth investing your time into anyway.

As for protecting your identity, that's always a good idea. A lot of people on the CC and Flickr communities know my real first name, but I don't go around broadcasting it, and my Facebook page is set to "private" for similar reasons. Keep your personal info protected. There is no reason not to, not to mention it's kinda fun to have a Lego alter-ego. I enjoy signing things "AKB", or introducing myself to other AFOLs as "AK_Brickster" and they know who I am from that handle.

I don't think that being known as a fan of Lego is terribly damaging professionally. I mean, if you're like Bruce and you'd rather have your professional credentials populating the top of a Google search, then I understand that, but I don't think that being "found out" as an AFOL is necessarily the kiss of death on a potential career. ;)
(It also helps (sorta) that I have a fairly common name, so if I Google it, a million pages pop up, and none of them are me!)
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Re: Who know about your interst in Lego?

Post by Fraslund »

I think that it is very important to know that any transaction on the internet is public. Anonymoty of the web is a myth. Basically make sure that anything you post or say would be soemthing you wouldnt mind saying in front of everyone you know. There are things mentinoed that you can do to safeguard what the public sees though for the most part.

Personally everyone knows about my hobby and I am proud of it. I don't see anything negative and am quite proud of what I have built and bieng part of my local community. If anyone had a problem with me building Lego, then they are most likely somebody I would rather not work for/with or associate with.

My biggest problem is any search for my name brings up Jason David Frank from the power rangers. I am eternally cursed with his image related to my name.... His name isn't even David....

Curse you White/Green Ranger!!!!
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Re: Who know about your interst in Lego?

Post by Valendale »

All of my family and pretty much my whole school know about it. I don't think a hobby should be something you hide from people, even if you don't want people to know much about you. That said, I don't go around screaming it, but after a few hours or public speaking projects I've at least maid reference to it.
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