Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Popularity and Good Friends


Q: I’m beginning a new year at school and I want to change my popularity status. I mean the popular girls have it so easy. All the boys love them; they look cool even in the ugliest outfits and no one makes fun of them. I have some pretty good friends, but they’re not in the right clique. Do you have any suggestion for becoming popular and making really close friends?


A: Well, my first question would be which is more important to you – being popular or having really close friends? This is not to say that you can’t do both, but consider the consequences for a moment. You currently have some pretty good friends, who happen to be in a different clique than the popular girls. Are you willing to risk throwing away these friendships and move on to the popular clique? Popularity doesn’t necessarily make good friends, and good friends don’t always have to be popular. One problem with popularity often comes in that age old saying, “The grass is always greener on the other side.” Being popular may not end up being as grand as you imagine, so spend some time considering what you really want.

Either way you answer the question, confidence is the key to success. If you want to be popular, you have to believe in yourself that you can be all that you want to be. No more standing in front of the mirror criticizing every dot on your face, no more thinking you’ll never be good enough. Confidence is a very contagious and attractive quality, almost foolproof guaranteed to help you start wonderful, lasting friendships. A good sense of self-confidence starts with believing in yourself and your abilities, but also includes standing up for those beliefs.

Being a teenager can be a really scary confusing time, and different opportunities for new experiences seem to appear daily. Just remember: everything that’s popular isn’t always right, and everything that’s right isn’t always popular.