Well, my "friend" asked me to explain the concept of roleplaying to her. I love people who are interested in roleplaying. We weren't on very good terms until we started discussing about books and roleplaying. So, I explained the concept of roleplaying to her and this is the reply I received which I just had to share. (Most of it was in Korean so I had to translate.)

"Friend": What is roleplaying, basically?
Me: You...roleplay as a character. I dun know. .___.
"Friend": Show me an example.
Me: *posts link of Maya, Zephy, and Hyppo's topic* They're such awesome roleplayers. <3
"Friend": ...who have no lives.
Me: Um...okay...
Me: It's their...hobby?
"Friend": Do they want to brag so much how good they are at writing? Why do they want to brag that much to the whole world?
Me: It's not bragging. I mean, if you're good at making things with yarn, and you join a club, would it be considered bragging?
Me: *purposely says she is away* Hey, I have to go do something...
"Friend": Okay.

*A LITTLE LATER*

"Friend": Well, I think these people are trying to look and become better than others.
"Friend": My opinion.
"Friend": Lol.
Me: Let me ask you a question: there are currently 41 members on that site who roleplay and a lot of other people in this world who roleplay. Are they all bragging and trying to make themselves look better?
"Friend": Yea, they're trying to like improve more so they get to the top list or whatever you guys have.
Me: There's no list...o_o
"Friend": But if they have so much talent in writing they should channel it into something educational so that it can actually benefit them.
Me: Well, most of them are in high school so...xD And some of them have probably joined creative writing classes.
"Friend": Wow, that is a REAL waste of time then. If they are in high school, writing won't benefit you much in the future. I mean, yes, if you succeed, you might become famous and make a lot of money, but that rarely happens. And don't tell me "It's not about money but about something you love". Trust me, you'll know later the difference between "what you love" and "what pays the bills".

There was a lot more "arguing" after that, but I'll summarize it up.

Me: You don't have to start a hobby to benefit yourself in the future. You do it because you like it.
"Friend": Yeah, but I don't make it apart of my life or stuff.

And I'll end it there.

I know there are people in the world who disapprove of roleplaying, but this was my first time meeting someone who actually disapproved of it, so I just wanted to share my first experience. xD;

Comments are welcome.

EDIT: Oh, and my friend speaks English and Korean, so the posts were Korean and English. The English posts were mostly chatspeak, so I had to change it to proper form in order not to upset the admins and burn your eyes. xD;

*sob*
We are soooo misunderstoooooood!
Norly, I don't even tell people I roleplay anymore. My friends aren't that type of people, you know? They'd probably have almost the same arguement as your friend, only they'd say "eeew, why wolves??" to which I'd reply "I dunnnnoooooh...." lol
I especially like the list idea. Like we all compile a giiiiiant list of every roleplayer and move our names around on 'em? I'd be like, numero six-hundred-and-ninety-five and there'd be a little asterisk next to my name that went down to a footnote that said "CRAZYPANTS!". Heeeheee
Wowseh, I didn't know you spoke Korean, too! That's so cool; you're extremely fluent in both languages, then? *idolizes* I can't even become completely fluent in Spanish and Engligh....

How can you have a hobby and it not be part of your life? Tell her that for some of us (me) it's for stress-management. I write with Vienna a lot because she lets me release some steam that I'd had inside from my rough day. I want to be a doctor and I work five days a week in the hospital in the ER and such, so I'm always putting on this happy-happy-happy face, and always have to be very kind and very well-mannered and very conservative. Through writing, especially with Vienna, I can let that bit of me that doens't get a lot of air time out. :) It's very calming.

And you don't know how happy it makes me that you used one of my topics to explain what roleplaying is. <3 *hugggs* You're definately too good for my ego; watch out or I will go all nutzo with pride and start trying to out-write everyone else. Heeheeee!

It's the opposite with me, for one my Friends aren't like that at all. Well I'm picky with friends anyways, and I have been a friend with someone sinec kidagarden and we're still friends.

I taught my friends how to RP, well my real life ones that would be, since most of my online ones know already how to Roleplay.

And you have to admit Roleplaying is FUN, you can be whatever you want. Play fun characters to play, play characters that are nothing liike you. You can make up your own fantasy. I came to RPG cause of the fact it was fun, not to get better or anything but I do know I have impoved a lot.

And we have a life, RPG is a way of getting away from life, just to have a rest for once.

And I taught a kid how to Roleplay on MSN and everyone Roleplays, in life you do it too. And all my friends I made them to love wolves...mwhahaaha beware of my awesome powers!

And for sure, I have a life.

I gave up trying to make her understand though. She just doesn't find roleplaying a reasonable hobby. Well, people will be people.

If we had a list, I'd probably be a speck of dust on it that nobody notices. xD

Well, my parents are both Korean, making me Korean, but I was born in America and lived there for eleven years (I'm thirteen right now) so I'm not really fluent when it comes to Korean. I had to use a Korean-English dictionary for some of the translations. xD;

Aw, well, you guys deserve it. You guys are really awesome roleplayers! Whenever someone asks me for a roleplaying example I always dig one out from The Niche. :3 *hugs back*

Roleplaying is a lot more than 'just a hobby'. When you come to sites like the Niche who politely reminds players often to write lengthily in their posts, they're actually challenging people to stretch the limits of their vocabulary and grammar just to make the minimum requirements. And when you have great roleplayers to offer examples of interesting, literate writing that can easily cover lengths of pages, you inspire people to do the same. Especially those that try to cram as much obscure and high-brow words into their posts as feasibly possible (y'know...them words you need to have a dictionary nearby to understand their meanings).

Some people may not see writing as a practical way to earn a living, but it doesn't mean that it's so restricted to a particular area to be worthless; its not just a vocation. Language is a vital means of expression- the more you master it, the more you can vocalize your thoughts and feelings in a meaningful way that others can understand. Just think...wouldn't it be frustrating if no one understood anything you said? They might understand your words, but they might not understand the general gist of it because of the way it was worded or you not knowing the proper terms to use. Trust me, I know what its like, spending the better part of my life in a country with very little english speakers. And it doesn't end there. When you start expanding your vocabulary range, you start learning of new words and new meanings and generally increasing your comprehension. Innocent phrases soon start to have several different means of interpretations, (depending how risque your humor is), but you would soon be getting things that other people would take for granted simply because they wouldn't know that some words have several other meanings than the usual use (take poetry as an example). Some people in high posts like politics can't have such a restricted vocabulary when delivering speeches and debates- it reflects their comprehension and monopolizes people's ability to understand their views.

Going back to the topic, Roleplaying is a form of literature, and even your friend has to admit literature is a vital component in learning. The means might make it look like a mere hobby, but its every bit as educational as writing a paper on quantum physics. From proper word use, from adjectives to prepositions, from simple to complex sentence structures, from figures of speech to essay reports...you'd be covering the whole of everything you learn in language class attempting to write along with other people, with an intricate mesh of talents and ideas combined to form a scene or tell a tale no one person alone would be able to come up with. Its just like writing a novel (Harry Potter, anyone?), but done instead with other people, and done in a creative format that's supposed to be cooperative and sometimes challenging. Most of the time it involves brainstorming with people beforehand to have some idea of where they want the plot to go or end, and often they'll be coming up with suggestions you probably never would have considered.

Its also a form of acting, where one steps into the shoes of a person completely different from yourself and you are encouraged to see the world from their point of view. It helps people learn to adapt to strange or unexpected situations, as well as develop insight and empathy- very important skills one would need to possess if they wish to take a real-life job, like something in hospital care or law enforcement. Also imagination and creativity- see how differently things would be if you played a visually impaired girl with a missing arm than a full-figured magazine model, or even a garden-variety squirrel trying to get by without being mauled by the Wilson's pitbull, all who most likely would reside in the same neighborhood setting under the same circumstances. Sometimes you can even start to understand yourself through roleplay, the reasons of why you behave the way you do or how your mind works and responds in relation to meeting other people or even clarifying on how you see the world. Its just a step-closer to self-enlightenment (and I'm seriously not making this up. I have two characters I've played, and oftentimes when I write about their lives I surprise myself with my insight to their lives, how their hardships and experiences molded them into the people they are and being able to relate to them with my own, even when our circumstances are completely different).

And lastly (thought probably not, but I've exhausted coming up with any more defenses), roleplaying...is just a game. A recreational activity. Just like playing chess or soccer. You're going to condemn people just trying to have some fun? People who would rather spend their excess energy in something creative and educational? People who would rather not be arsed to do something they would have to view as work but instead partake in a leisurely activity they would enjoy for the sake of enjoyment?

...Sorry. Got carried away. People like that (no offense) irk me so much for some reason, because I found much more than just entertainment when I roleplay. In all honesty, I can't think of how I would have gotten by any other way, because I learned more through roleplay sites than I would have if I'd just lived my normal life never knowing what it was. My circumstances are sort of special- I live in the Philippines, and they don't exactly promote English use in the population, although people have lived with it and learned to speak and understand it. They just don't bother to practice it, which is a big difficulty for me since I was born in the States and had to struggle with a fairly huge language barrier that really put me at a disadvantage with almost everything. Job, a social life, etc. But I had friends in those sites, and people who could teach me things I could never learn here, and being proficient in the use of English was one of the few pursuits I ever bore a genuine interest in because I found I could understand things more the more I practiced writing.

So...yeah. I guess what I'm trying to say is roleplay isn’t ‘just a hobby’. It’s a way of life something much more meaningful to those that actually bother to try it. I may be making a mountain out of an anthill, but meh, that what it all means to me

Who is she to judge who has a life and who doesn't? No one has that kind of authority. Roleplaying is something people enjoy, and it harms no one, so why is she insisting that there's something wrong with it? What, because it's not the norm? Through roleplaying you help further your writing skills and learn to analyze things in literature more. So if anything it is the most beneficial in high school. This person is talking about something that they know nothing about, making judgments as if they know everything of what's right, wrong, and "cool" or whatever shit she's pulling. And hell, what do they even know about us? Nothing. We gather on these sites to share a similar hobby, and it's a way to escape what troubles we have in our lives. No one has to judge anyone here because really, we don't actually know one another. Sites like this reveal just how many barriers we truly have when meeting people. Here we don't worry about appearance, social ranking, money, etc., we just focus on being generally nice people whilst sharing a similar hobby.

Not only is this merely enjoyable, but it is a way to vent and understand. By being in different skins you get the feel of what it's like for other people. Some of my characters were actually created in an attempt to get myself to act more like them. When I first created Jai, for instance, it was in attempt to feel more confidant and proud of who I was. My confidence has always been a major issue for me. Yet now her character has changed to someone angry and hurt, and the pain I feel from everything in my life can now be driven into her actions. It's a successful way for me to express my anger in silence. For these characters are not always just for entertainment, but they are typically a reflection of our personalities, angers, or desires. They mean more than the words we type to many of us. They literally are a part of us, a part of our mind. She may believe that roleplaying is "nerdy" or means you "have no life," but apparently she's the one without a life for taking time out of her day to criticize something she knows nothing about.

Roleplaying is one of the personal things that many people will not be able to understand. This is why I don't tell anyone about it. Personally, I don't care that she insulted us. She can go get whatever she finds acceptable out of life, but at least we're spending our time enjoying life the way we want to.

Kudos to both of you; you made me smile just reading your thoughts. If anyone is a testament to why we roleplay and to the strength of well-chosen language, it's you two. <3

Yes, I enjoyed reading your thoughts as well. I would have loved to share this topic with her, but she'd just go crazy saying how this is proof roleplaying is a waste of time. Besides, her vocabulary isn't very...large (she blames me for reading the dictionary to learn new words) and she'd have a hard time understanding most of the posts. I don't want to define every word she has trouble with and she probably wouldn't use the dictionary either.

I think this girl is just upset that some people have a better grasp on the english language than she does, personally. But most people here have said all that I needed to.

Writing is a hobby, it's constructive, it's fun, and it's relaxing. What's wrong with that? Notta.