We all want to be recognized by the people around us, and if not all of us, then most of us. The feeling you get when you're the center of attention, the thought that people admire and look up to you. It's exhilarating to know you have that stand over people. The truth is though, why do you want to be so popular amongst people; people who might not even know you? For the admiration, for the attention, maybe even for the recognition of your own success? While popularity is something that's so highly seeked upon by people --- especially the younger teenage groups of today --- it's just overrated.
I notice so many people today, and more so when I was back in middle and high school, how so many kids wanted to be recognized. How they wanted to "fit in" and be part of that big crew of the "popular group." I saw it from both the inside of the circle and the outside. I was one of those guys who was part of what some would consider the popular group in the school. Being looked upon, being noticed all the time, getting attention, and also having to live up to these ridiculous standards just so you would fit in with everyone else. When I see it in the teenage groups today, I just think back to myself, "I was there at one point, and man am I glad I got out of it."
I remember always having to do the things that my group of so-called friends wanted to do. I remember I had to dress great, stay away from those certain groups of students, not being able to join certain clubs or classes, because it was considered a place for the "geeks" or "losers." It wasn't until I got to high school that I told myself, "I'm done." I wasn't going to let the drive of popularity keep me back from doing the things I wanted to do. The things I was good at doing. I wasn't going to live up to these standards just to be popular amongst people. I realized I was beginning to feel uncomfortable with who I was, and that was just it, I wasn't myself. I was part of the wave that everyone wanted to ride. If I was going to be popular for something, it might as well be something I could be recognized for by who I was as a person. Not to mention, when you leave high school and you head towards college and move ahead in your life, there's no such thing as popularity [in the outside world]. You're in an individual just like everyone else around you. What you were known for back in high school, the people who looked up to you because you were part of that popular clique is all gone. It's driven into the sand after the wave meets the shore.
It was through breaking away from that group of friends where I met my real friends in school. The friends I could rely on, those who wouldn't judge me for what I was into or what I was apart of. The friends, that even beyond that point, I would keep in touch with. It was because I decided to be who I was and not care for being popular or gain that attention that I realized what a true friendship was like. It also gained me some of the best years in my life and let me realize what I wanted to do in life after the point of school.
So, it's here that I tell you that being popular is overrated. Just be true to yourself and don't put yourself down on the ladder because someone is going to judge you for who you are, where you're from, or what you're into. If you're going to be popular, it might as well count for something, right? Rather than be popular just because you're trying to fit in with the crowd, be recognized for your skills, for your intellect, for what you can do that makes you stand out above everyone else. Be popular for what you love to do, not for what someone else loves to do or wants you to do.
Being popular just to be popular, it's just overrated.
I notice so many people today, and more so when I was back in middle and high school, how so many kids wanted to be recognized. How they wanted to "fit in" and be part of that big crew of the "popular group." I saw it from both the inside of the circle and the outside. I was one of those guys who was part of what some would consider the popular group in the school. Being looked upon, being noticed all the time, getting attention, and also having to live up to these ridiculous standards just so you would fit in with everyone else. When I see it in the teenage groups today, I just think back to myself, "I was there at one point, and man am I glad I got out of it."
I remember always having to do the things that my group of so-called friends wanted to do. I remember I had to dress great, stay away from those certain groups of students, not being able to join certain clubs or classes, because it was considered a place for the "geeks" or "losers." It wasn't until I got to high school that I told myself, "I'm done." I wasn't going to let the drive of popularity keep me back from doing the things I wanted to do. The things I was good at doing. I wasn't going to live up to these standards just to be popular amongst people. I realized I was beginning to feel uncomfortable with who I was, and that was just it, I wasn't myself. I was part of the wave that everyone wanted to ride. If I was going to be popular for something, it might as well be something I could be recognized for by who I was as a person. Not to mention, when you leave high school and you head towards college and move ahead in your life, there's no such thing as popularity [in the outside world]. You're in an individual just like everyone else around you. What you were known for back in high school, the people who looked up to you because you were part of that popular clique is all gone. It's driven into the sand after the wave meets the shore.
It was through breaking away from that group of friends where I met my real friends in school. The friends I could rely on, those who wouldn't judge me for what I was into or what I was apart of. The friends, that even beyond that point, I would keep in touch with. It was because I decided to be who I was and not care for being popular or gain that attention that I realized what a true friendship was like. It also gained me some of the best years in my life and let me realize what I wanted to do in life after the point of school.
So, it's here that I tell you that being popular is overrated. Just be true to yourself and don't put yourself down on the ladder because someone is going to judge you for who you are, where you're from, or what you're into. If you're going to be popular, it might as well count for something, right? Rather than be popular just because you're trying to fit in with the crowd, be recognized for your skills, for your intellect, for what you can do that makes you stand out above everyone else. Be popular for what you love to do, not for what someone else loves to do or wants you to do.
Being popular just to be popular, it's just overrated.
