I don't understand something.

I'm considered rather odd by many of my peers. Not because of my eccentricity or my tendency to make the occasional obscure reference (though, I don't deny that those have some part in it all), but because of something else entirely.

Whenever I ask why others think me weird, I usually get a similar response. It tends to be something like this, "You spend your afternoons reading and studying rather than actually doing something (i.e. Homework, Hanging out, etc.)."

I am actually known for pulling out a book in the middle of class rather than listen to the teacher.

I understand that this is an awful habit and I shouldn't do this, but why is doing school work so difficult when I literally study in my free time?

I don't have an answer to this question, and it's nearly impossible for me to subdue natural impulses of curiosity when working for school. How am I supposed to do anything worthwhile when I can't even complete my schoolwork.

This problem has led to other issues, and I honestly don't know what to do about it. It's like an addiction, but you can't treat it the same way you can treat substance addiction, because it's literally part of school.

Take away the part of me that works against my schooling and you end up with an undesired for school -- doesn't solve the problem, but makes it worse.

I don't know what to do, guys. How do I go about dealing with the problem?

It's like, I know what the right choice is -- do the work and save other research for after, so why is this so difficult?

What even makes it different from my side studies? I don't understand the issue and I don't get why this topic affects me so much more than everyone else.