Why are you the black sheep of your family?

1. My family is composed almost entirely of mad scientists. I'm not joking in the slightest. My great-grandfather, Max, was an inventor and an engineer who came over from Switzerland. He was an undeniably brilliant man, but possessed by some fairly odd notions about a few things. In his later years, he made it his mission to augment the laws of thermodynamics, all while hoping to create a device that would convert angular momentum into linear momentum. (No, not a wheel.) This mechanism, he hoped, would be used to "defeat the communists," possibly by seeing use as a thruster on spaceships. I still have a briefcase full of his old schematics. They look like something you'd find in Tesla's laboratory. My grandfather, Max, is also an inventor and an engineer. He started his company in his garage, where he developed a number of industrial technologies and processes that are used around the world today. After retiring, he invented a nearly silent, nearly frictionless train that is entirely green, blindingly fast, and amazingly efficient. It has been drawing [quite](https://www.wired.com/story/flight-rail-vectorr-atmospheric-railway-train/) a [lot](https://www.ien.com/advanced-manufacturing/video/20973057/vectorr-better-than-the-hyperloop) of [worldwide attention](https://www.sfgate.com/technology/article/89-year-old-Ukiah-man-builds-hyperloop-competitor-11236661.php) lately. Now, my father (Max) took a slightly different path in life. Rather than becoming an inventor and an engineer, he became... okay, I'm lying, he's actually both of those. His career first saw him working for my grandfather, then for the American government at Sandia National Laboratories (the research and development organization in charge of Area 51), then at his own company, and finally for my grandfather again. He has invented or developed quite a few things, many of them having to do with metallurgy and material science. Then there's me. Hi, I'm Max. [Here we all are](http://i.imgur.com/SpUv6Wz.jpg), sometime in the late eighties. I am the first one in my family who didn't become a mad scientist. Instead, I spend my time telling stories and [making stuff up](http://www.nearlydeparted.net)... but unfortunately, the mad scientist *gene* got passed on to me. When I was about eight years old, I tried to create a lightsaber out of some old electronics that were lying around the house. At age ten, I made a tazer out of a disposable camera and some wire. At age twelve or so, I tried to create a directed energy weapon out of an ion hairdryer, a device for discharging static on records, and a makeshift linear accelerator. (That sounds *much* more impressive than it actually was, believe me. The stupid thing was really just a bunch of DIY electromagnets strung together.) The majority of my right hand is still covered in scar tissue, following an ill-advised experiment that I conducted – when I was in my early twenties – with Splenda and copious amounts of fire. Suffice to say that I still take after my family... but something tells me that they wish I would be more productive. **TL;DR: I'm the lone author in a sea of actual mad scientists.**
   — RamsesThePigeon


2. Sister went to Harvard, other sister works for Goldman Sachs. I am flunking out of my first semester of college at the local university.
   — koalageorgie


3. I'm the only one actively trying to better themselves and trying to leave the tiny hellhole of a town they call home.
   — HottsyTottsy






4. I'm not really the black sheep but the rainbow one since I'm the queer
   — Safari_Mossly


5. I’m the only introverted and shy person in my family.
   — an_uncreative_name


6. I'm not a drug addicted racist criminal.
   — AlwaysDisposable






7. I'm the only ginger I'm the only one taller than 6ft I'm the only one with tattoos I hate coffee I hate beer I'm the only not religious person in a heavy Catholic family
   — babystripper


8. I moved in with my boyfriend before marriage. We’re still together, married almost 10 years, and have 2 (planned) children, steady jobs, and a great house/life. Many of my cousins have multiple surprise children, divorces, DUI’s, and can’t pay their bills. But they go to church on Sunday, so I’m the bad one. /sigh
   — ckels23


9. Because I’m a girl. I was supposed to be the only son. Despite my interest in weapons, my executive career, my military experience, my Doctorate degree in progress, and the amazing Grandkids I gave him, I remain his greatest disappointment. He only speaks to me to pass messages to my SO about weapons he thinks they both like. Hint: I never pass those texts to SO. I answer for him. Every conversation he thinks he’s having with another MAN is really me. I think he’d be kinda surprised to discover his daughter is pretty accomplished and kinda cool.
   — jre-erin1979






10. I'm liberal. I'm not feminine. I got pregnant and adopted the child out. I'm christian, but not bible thumping. I changed my first and last name without marriage because I wanted to. I'm adopting my nephew. I moved out at 17, graduated at 20 and am the most successful financially in my family.
    — bobjanis


11. I have tattoos and fancy liberal ideas. My boyfriend is a Jew. I use birth control. I'm depressed and that makes my mom mad because she can't brag about me and my relatives feel uncomfortable around me because they know nothing about me.
    — NotoriousTNT


12. My father played football and baseball in high school and college and professional baseball after graduating. My uncle played baseball in college and is now an umpire in his spare time. My cousin was a quarterback superstar in high school and college and was set to go to the NFL until he injured himself. He now works for ESPN. And my other cousin is 6'11 and plays professional basketball. I wear big round glasses, did theater, marching band, and singing throughout my school career, and now work in a museum.
    — Ser_Parzival






13. I'm the only one who didn't think it was okay to abuse me.
    — theonesimulation


14. Im not religious, and i tried to question the bible....
    — MeowTwix00