I Go Deep: The Truth About Popularity

- you see one of your good friends and she squeals, giggles, and chats with you for over an hour
- the next day, you go up to her, expecting her to strike up a juicy conversation, but right when you say a casual hi, she walks away.... your cheeks turn BRIGHT red and you feel lame....
- you see her trying to be "COOL" or "POPULAR"............. and talking to a group of gossipy girls
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I have seen many 7th graders that I know in my school trying to change their personality just to show people that they are "BAD" or sassy, cool, etc. When people I know try to be "popular", I feel bad :(
I don't feel bad that I lost a genuine friend; I feel bad that someone out there lost there personality, in other words, themselves. Popularity means to be a friendly, bubbly sweet girl/boy who has a lot of friends.. It does not mean to give in to peer pressure, and to suddenly drift apart from that girl with a "hidden" magnetic character.. When I say a "hidden" magnetic character, I mean a person who seems to be unfriendly and quiet by the looks. However, this person has a hidden bubbly personality... For now, popularity might seem like a good thing; I mean duh, you get to have so many friends, and it is also entertaining to hear gossipy rumors. However, later on your gossips won't be listened by anyone, and people won't like you for unnecessary wasting their time by spreading rumors. Imagine, how will anyone have to time to "find out" who likes who in high school? I mean, just be yourself .. because later on, your friends who will stick to you............. Like as you grow older and more mature, you will have fewer friends..... Elementary school: 30 friends, Middle school: 20 friends, High school: 10 friends, and College: 3 real friends :))) So what I am trying to say is that the true meaning of popularity is not how many "cool" friends you have; popularity is how friendly you are with your true friends, no matter how many friends you have.

In my opinion, I think that teens want to be popular so that they can feel wanted or accepted by their peers. However, (this may seem surprisingly), when you crave to feel wanted, you actually have low self-esteem. You constantly want attention, and you worry about your flaws....
On the other hand, when you absolutely fine with not having popularity, you feel wanted and accepted by only one person-yourself. This helps your individuality shine, and you also feel confident about yourself.

I personally feel that the opposite of popularity is individuality. I mean, it is so fun to be unique and have different interests. I mean having unique interests make you do different things, like fun diy projects (decorating a top), or web design. Imagine, when everyone in school has individuality (not popularity), there would be so many amazing things to discuss about! Everyone would have a unique voice and opinion that would be heard be so many people. Additionally, since there would be an environment of beautiful, unique people, no one would worry about being different.

Above all, being your genuine true self to yourself and your friendly, true friends is basically what defines you and you life........ life is meant to be lived with truth ............ "When people laugh at Mickey Mouse, it's because he's so human; and that is the secret of his popularity." -Walt Disney

 

Laughing in My Head

Teenage girls today are so obsessed by copious amounts of technology and because of this, they are lacking in their important studies.. (okay, don't worry, that is NOT going to be the topic of this post) (wink, wink)

WARNING: To be read ONLY by 7th grade girls... (this post is a humor thing)

Every day, I come across hundreds of girly fan girls, mostly 8th grade girls, obsessed with three things: wearing eyeliner and fussing about it in the girl's restroom, wearing dresses to school on Fridays (IS FRIDAY A SPECIAL OCCASION?), and combing their silky, "beautiful" hair. Seriously, I am not going to insult anyone in this post; I am just going to explain the significant power of inner beauty through humor. Obviously, everyone has pride in their appearance; I don't show up to school wearing rags. However, there is a point where it gets out of control, and this issue starts with teenage girls showing people their fake self, the one that is covered with clown makeup and.. laughing in a weird, "attractive" way.

Sure, every single individual has a unique personality, not like stereotypical labels like nerd, girly girl, tomboy, nature lover, and video gamer. Their genuine feelings are hidden deep in complicated layers; they are many elements that make someone a whole. Even though I should not care about random people around me, it always annoys me when girls are not being their true self. For instance, I know so many people that are so kind and have a beautiful heart, but for some apparent reason they show attitude and scowl in a cruel, evil, and "popular" way. In reality, I am ignoring their actions, because "The Intelligent Ignore," but I am laughing in my head.

       "Why did you cut you hair so short?" Three girls were asking me this terribly unnecessary question. "Hey, Indian girl." Okay, so I ignore them, gently taking a paper towel to dry my wet hands in the restroom.

That was a normal day, uh, how do I say it, going to the restroom. Let's add another aspect to the process of me washing my hands..

       "Move, I need to do my eyeliner, Madison!" Apparently, some teenagers were fussing about their overall appearance, and wasting time using the mirror. I, on the other hand, was waiting in a LINE, so that I could wash my hands. I mean, girls, who cares if you want to simply exaggerate the point that you have eyeliner on your clown face? Do you want everyone to know that you have a cornea, a pupil, an iris, and a retina? Well.. uhh.. 'cause you had an eye the very day you were born, when you were a baby and did not care whatsoever about your appearance. Inner beauty is not just a term; it is an important part of life that you should treasure when it magically appears into your beautiful heart. Yes, it is extremely hard to have inner beauty in your daily lives, as people's outer personalities are always judged harshly in today's world.

Moreover, what's up with wearing fancy dresses to school on Friday, or even wearing dresses at all? The last time I checked, dresses and other fancy garments are most commonly worn in special occasions, not in school, which is like a second home. And while a teacher is giving an academic lesson, why do children comb their hair and twirl it around with their fingers?

Copious amounts of the 7th and 8th graders that I saw judging themselves by their appearance or having a stereotypical attitude were great, awesome people. In fact, some of them were so kind and had a genuine, beautiful personality. However, they lacked self-confidence. You guys may be wondering why, since there are so full of attitude and pride. These random people most probably wanted to be accepted in the crowd, and because of this, they changed their own heart and soul to reflect others. Certainly, being a girly-girl and wearing dresses and eyeliner is cool, only if those traits match your true self deep deep within. I am laughing in my head right now, but seriously, these students need a boost in self-esteem, the most important quality of all. They must have belief and faith, in order to replenish their soul, the soul that is pure and filled with generosity. Love yourself, the one that is hidden between thick layers of emotions and of coarse, eyeliner.