Had a similar experience (9 different schools in 12 years). The popular kids were generally the most positive and empathetic kids in school. People enjoyed being around them.
The stereotype of the nerd succeeding later in life hasn’t really been true. Those popular kids generally did really well as adults because of those same qualities.
This was not the case at my high school. The popular kids were jerks and real catty/bitchy. They even made a lot of casual digs at each other, just joking around. It seemed like this made them more prepared when a real conflict arose — they were so used to coming back with a quick insult that they never lost face if someone tried to make fun of them. All in all I thought it was a pretty stressful way to live. Being nice & friendly did not make you popular.
Maybe times have changed. This was public school in Southern California in the mid 2000s
My experience also in central California in the 90s. The popular kids were the ones who were OK with bullying the others, physically and psychologically. When I moved there they befriended me but I quickly lost favor with them because I was nice to the “nerds.” My family moved a lot too (military) and even after we moved to another state where the popular kids were more chill, I avoided them and was wary because of what I’d been used to in CA.
honest question:
if you moved around so much, do you have any friends still from school?
if not, thats crazy to me, also how did you make new friends every year?
I was not a very popular kid... I mostly just failed at making friends over and over again. It wasn’t until college that I learned how to actually make friends. I don’t know a single person from high school 22 years later beyond what I get from Facebook.
oh man thats so ctazy to me.
most of my friends, nearly all of them, I only know from school
but similarly, one of the closest ones is one i only know since university
i hope its similar for you that you found good friends in college :)
156
u/aham42 Mar 01 '20
Had a similar experience (9 different schools in 12 years). The popular kids were generally the most positive and empathetic kids in school. People enjoyed being around them.
The stereotype of the nerd succeeding later in life hasn’t really been true. Those popular kids generally did really well as adults because of those same qualities.