First of all...what does it mean to "knock down" wall texture? Second...?

My bedroom is floor to ceiling "popcorn" texture. The people who sold me the home have a high gloss paint over it. I cannot afford to tear down the walls and re-drywall. I don't want the mess of scraping off the bumps. What is another way to retexture the walls? If I use a joint compound to create a different texture, would it work? I really hate it, but financially I'm quite limited. I could not hire anyone to do work for me, so all of my home improvements are done myself or by my mother....(who can do almost anything). But she isn't so sure what we can do about this.