You might be an awesome rugby player… but players of other sports will look at you as an outsider.
You might be an awesome rock singer but you won’t impress creators of dubstep.
You might be an awesome mathematician and still, you may not be a geek.
You can call many groups like that that are “close” and “far” at the same time. They might appreciate your hard work but won’t truly support and care about achievements.
Of course, you might feel tempted to fit into some group that you know is “close” to your target. But! Are you really this type of person? Usually, it’s not your real personality. Most personalities are very specific in what they mostly care about. Sure, you might fit for some time but you won’t be truly happy by making that decision. If you stick to being your true self you will find a group that fits you best. They will support you and help you with growth of your interests and talents. And that’s true goal of being part of a group. Supporting each other.
What if there is noone like me?
But sure, you might feel alone in your interest. Finding people that shares same interest takes a lot of time and dedication. So if you can’t find a group that already exists and is interested maybe it’s time to start new group. Probably there are more people like you that simply wait for a group like that to be created.
Japan already thought about this and in every school, they have specific clubs created by students (called bukatsu [部活 – club activity]). These clubs can pick any activity as their main function. Sport, games, music, art, cooking, photography, calligraphy, or even naping. Their main goal is not to create the best of the best in specific things but to socialize and connect people with the same hobbies. Japan knows that socializing with supporting people is more important than just belonging to any group. They even give each club room for their activities and creative freedom.
More information about bukatsu.
What if I don’t want to wait?
Sure. You might not want to wait for good enough people and just want to join group that is close enough. So if you change your personality to fit this group you probably will feel ok but won’t get true happiness of being part of them. They won’t truly support something that doesn’t fit into their category and they even might discourage you from trying this thing. Let’s say that you love table tennis. But you join group that plays lawn tennis because it’s really close and you like it a bit too. You will have fun being in this group, you will learn a lot but continuing growth in table tennis will be a lot harder. Let’s say you want to join a tournament for table tennis, most of the members of your group will react something like “Awesome! But why table tennis?”. Because they will want you to succeed (as you are part of group) and yet they won’t appreciate fully your efforts simply because it’s not in their full interest.
Most of the time it’s better to be true self and just wait for perfect people. They will be your best friends for the rest of your life and I promise it’s worth the wait. Just be yourself.