Were the doctors you know always this weird?

This week on Social Rounds, Tony, Frances Mei, and Ryan take a trip back to childhood and revisit the nerdy obsessions, social disasters, and formative experiences that shaped them long before medicine entered the picture.

From comic book collecting in the 1990s to Pokémon encyclopedic knowledge, musical theater fandom, bug collections, dictionaries at recess, and the painful realities of being the odd kid out, the conversation explores what it means to grow up different—and why that difference can become a strength later in life.

They also discuss people-pleasing, popularity, identity, internet criticism, and why some adults spend decades trying to recover from middle school while others simply learn to embrace being weird.

Plus: Ryan launches a campaign to become Social Rounds' "third chair," Frances Mei reveals her lifelong Pokémon expertise, Tony defends musical theater, and Colin's mustache unexpectedly becomes a topic of public discourse.

In this episode:

• Growing up nerdy in the 90s and 2000s
• Comic books, Pokémon, and musical theater
• Childhood loneliness and social rejection
• People-pleasing vs. individuality
• Why unpopular kids often become unconventional adults
• The psychology of fitting in
• Internet criticism and resilience
• The ongoing saga of Cartography Geoff
• Colin's controversial mustache

Hosted by:

Tony Chin-Quee: @wheyouat

Frances Mei Hardin: @francesmeimd

Ryan Montoya: @ryan_montoya_art

Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective