"Before reading this, please acknowledge that this is merely a rant. I am not trying to shove my beliefs down other people's throats. I am just giving my opinion through my own ocular view of the world. Also, not all 'popular' people are how I depicted them. I admit that exaggeration was used…okay, A LOT OF IT. If one did not know what a 'popular' person was like, they'd probably think of the words 'barbaric' and 'arrogant' after reading the text. But, there are some honest-to-good 'popular' people out there.
What ever happened to being yourself? When I scope my fellow classmates in a room, all I can see are fake, outer shells of people who they aren't. When did it start? Why would people do it? Labeling, stereotyping, discriminating; when did we all become such judgmental people? The answers to these questions remain a mystery to me. So tell me, reader…Can you answer them?
School. Just one word, and yet, it branches off into so many different groups. Every school contains their stereotypical jocks, cheerleaders, popular kids, nerds, artists, musicians, troublemakers, Goths, and Asian kids. And no one could forget, of course, "the food chain." The food chain, to some extent, holds an important role to many students in our schooling years.
The goal of a majority of the school population is to make their ways up this "food chain" to achieve the title of becoming 'popular.' But why? Reader, may I ask you why becoming 'popular' is such an achievement to so many of us? 'The food chain' can also be named many other ways. "The obnoxious scale," with zero being the lowest and a total jerk being the highest, is another way to interpret it. "The-many-friends-to-only-a-few-scale" is also appropriate. Don't lie; you've all seen it happen. Honest-to-good people, who, out of the blue, spike their way up in this so-called popularity. And, in due time, their past selves fade away and leave behind these new, I-am-better-than-everyone personalities. Then, they slowly, but surely, lose many true friends of the past and replace them with these new, fake ones. So, why do so many people in this world strive to become 'popular,' when, really, you're striving to become a total jackass?
Today, in our generation, the expression 'be yourself' is weightless and holds on
magnitude. So many kids in modern day schools are afraid of what others will think of them. They hide behind these 'barriers,' and, ultimately act as someone they aren't. How about, instead of dressing the same way, acting the same way, and thinking the way everybody else does, you take a stand? The one thing that I totally and completely dread about school is that everyone is the same. Same routine, sameclothes, and same people every single day. what ever happened to it? EXPRESS yourself. You are NOT someone else! Show off your one of a kind personality and style. Who CARES about how other people think about you?
To all of you readers who just said "I do," in your heads after reading that sentence, please don't think of this as some kind of lecture intended to boost spirits and encourage student interaction. This is merely a rant.
I probably just produced a 'WTF' reaction in most of you. I know and understand you all so well that I can predict what you're going to say and how you're going to react…I also recognize how much of a hatred some of you have towards things like these. What, you want more proof? Refer to the beginning of the paragraph.
Oh, now you're smiling.
I am just good at this, aren't I?
Now, to all of you individuals out there who are reading this and thinking something along the lines of, 'what the hell is this retard going on about?' Can I ask of you a favor? Go ahead and find that kid who sits in the corner. That friend who no one talks to. Now, compare him/her with your typical school jock. What you are doing now is comparing two types of people - ones who are at the bottom of our 'food chain,' and the others who are at the top. Notice the difference, and take it from there…That is all I ask of you.
So, all in all, kudos to all of you out there who are 'real,' expressing your individual, unique personalities and living life to its fullest. I personally believe that it's pointless to be "fake". Acting as someone else will get you nowhere, and, in the long run, cause you quite a bit of sadness.
Ultimately, what I'm trying to say is to live so that there's only standing room at your funeral."
- One who is of the same kind as you