People Are Sure We Can Answer Their "Am I The Jerk?" Questions

"I (M,18) have a little sister (F, 9) who is a real bookworm and often feels left out at school and in other activities because she is often seen reading rather than playing with the other kids her age. I know that she doesn't really do anything sports-wise other than swimming, and so I find her knocking on my door and crying about getting bullied. She is really shy and often cannot stand up to them. This is a common scenario, and I feel really bad that I can't do anything about it. It turns out that this time my stepmum heard about it and, a few days later, enrolled her in soccer for the new term (there is a program at her school) even though she knows that my sister hates soccer, and that if she does it at school then she will only get bullied more. (We know this because we tried a similar thing last year.) So I went to talk to her, telling her that she cannot enroll my sister in something that she is not comfortable with. But she tells me, and I'm quoting her here, "She can't hide behind books forever," and "She needs to be normal." She argues that she is her stepmum and has some liberty over the choices for her stepchild and that I should not get caught between the choices she makes for my sister. AITJ?" Another User Comments: "NTJ, I have been that girl (right down to the only sporty activity I liked being swimming, maybe in a couple of years she can start the training track for lifeguarding, that's what I did and it was very fulfilling) and I thank you for listening to her. I do understand what other commenters are saying, that it's good to have multiple interests, but I think that it's unlikely she'll find a new interest she loves when she's being forced to attend these activities. I'm speaking from experience... T-ball, figure skating, Brownies (this is Girl Scouts for the younger girls if you're unfamiliar), soccer, swimming; every night had to be a sport or activity, and I desperately wanted to just quietly read my book. When your mom is MAKING you do the activity, the default position is "she has to make me, therefore I hate this." It didn't make me any more socially skilled either; the kids at the activities just called me a bookworm nerd, also, as you've astutely pointed out, is likely to happen." Reddit User Another User Comments: "No jerks here. As a fellow bookworm, it is okay to try something else or to explore a bunch of different things. You are NTJ here for your feelings, but the truth is you don't have the authority or business to tell anyone what they can or cannot enroll a child in their care in. Go to the practices and games. Encourage your sister to make the best of it. Volunteer to help coach. Suggest other things she may like in the future. Those are positive things you can do. Trying to have authority over something you don't have authority over isn't going to go well for you. There is nothing wrong with being a bookworm. I read at least two books a week and have since childhood, but I also had interests outside of that. I danced, ran track, played basketball, I can do a variety of fiber arts, I write, etc. There are things to explore outside of reading." sheramom4 Another User Comments: "I am to this day a bookworm – I was the kind of child who read the back of cereal packets (as my dad didn't let us read at the table). Reading is my happy place. I would like to reassure you that even though I was never 'popular' at school, in university, and in adulthood, I had lots of friends and am still very social. I also have a reasonably successful career and am, to all intents and purposes, 'normal.' Incidentally, being an introvert isn't 'abnormal.' Unless your sister is unhappy or depressed, I don't see anything wrong with her choosing to be less social and losing herself in books. Some people take longer than others to be social. Who you are at 9(!) years old isn't who you are forever. NTJ, and thank you for standing up for your sister." owlinpeagreenboat