It kind of does mess you up, but really the only quests you need to do are chains. Started with the beginning chain in Mulgore until about 10 ( including some of the Bloodhoof ones ), did druid quest, went to Ghostlands, did a few side quests here and there, and then did the chain where you get the rare at the end. There you go, level 23.
That makes sense I guess.
I go to school with only 300 people, and the VAST majority of them are Xbox/Halo people, who's only computer is a MacBook, who constantly bash people like me who even speak of WoW, and the only video games they care about are the ones they consider "Hardcore". Hell, they've never even heard of Half-Life, Source, or Valve.
The only ones I saw who ever played Portal or Half-Life were anonymous upperclassmen. I'd see hints every few months of references like "The cake is a lie" or (on a "quote" project in a teacher's classroom) "The right man in the wrong place can make all of the difference in the world... -Gman".
I eventually found who they were, but it was at the end of the year. They were seniors, and unfortunately, I would never see them again.
Then again, there are the geeks in the grade below mine. However, talking to or being friendly to the lower classmen is social Self Delete.
TL;DR: I don't have any friends who play my games. Only my older brothers and their friends.