It's the 21st century, and the concept of popularity is still very much alive, but it's losing a fight. What fight is it losing you may ask? The fight of being true to oneself. People are no longer concerned with being popular, well not everyone at least, because being popular now has a bit of a different meaning. Being popular is being free to be yourself, accepting yourself for who you are and who you will become. Now how is that? Being popular has always been linked to being superficial, having a bunch of followers, and if you've never seen the movie "Mean Girls," you should watch it, because of Regina George. "Regina"meaning King, even her name screams superiority! Regina is the ideal popular kid. Though even in that movie, the kid who is really a bit odd, but very smart, only truly conquers when she accepts herself. When she does that those around her see her as very cool.

So here are five reasons why being a Geek can be cool:

1. Hermione Granger

We needed to start this list off with the biggest reason why being a geek is cool. For those of you who haven't read "Harry Potter" by J.K Rowling, and if you haven't I suggest you go do so, Hermione Granger is a muggle born witch and is looked down by several students because of that fact. Hermione later becomes known as the brightest witch of her age. Hermione never strayed from things she liked or tried to dumb herself down. She was always true to herself, and despite being known as a "know it all" and being disliked for that. She always knew knowledge was power, and because of that, she was the one who always came up with solutions. Hermione showed the readers that being cool begins with being true to yourself. Hermione was the girl with bushy hair who'd always raise her hand in class. Typically her hand was the first one up. She, despite all that was able to make friends, ignoring the incident with the troll, because of wit. It wasn't because she was the prettiest girl in her year, or because she was friends with Harry Potter, though I'm sure it didn't hurt her, was because she was fine with being the girl who preferred studying rather than sports. It was because she was the girl who was more scared of being expelled than of death. She never tried to be anything else other than who she really was. She was a geek, and if you really haven't read Harry Potter yet, and if you really haven't I suggest you grab all seven books, and even the screenplay which counts as the eighth book, SPOILER ALERT, around the fourth book the nerd becomes attractive. Whoever says one can't have brains and looks is wrong. Other than the amazing girl power that she represents, she shows that intelligence is cool, and having something you're passionate about? More props to you.

2. Glee

This isn't particularly about "Glee," but for those of you who haven't watched, there is a song called "Loser Like Me," where one of the lyrics is "I'll Get You Back When I'm Your Boss." This statement is over said but it's true. The kid who was completely obsessed with "Star Wars" as a child may create a new way for space travel. The girl who wore the strange outfits that you mocked, may be the fashion designer who designed the outfit that you'll be wearing. The boy who drew cartoons all over his notes may become a famous cartoonist who your kids watch before they head to school. You may not get why they do the things they do, but they see the world in a whole new way, and you may think "That kid is such a loser," but you never know where they'll end up. Rachel Berry from "Glee" was slushied more than once in the show, and everyone totally looked down on her. She was a music geek with the nose she absolutely detested. Though once she got over it she became a huge thing, and bulldozed anything that stood in the way of her dream. No one but the other geeks really understood why she was so motivated, and no one but the people who had dreams so big that no one believed that they could do it. Those people were the only ones no understood. They had big dreams and people thought they were geeks, but those people became huge successes. Being a geek means dreaming big and reaching for the stars. You may not reach that dream, but you'll end up down another path that will lead you to your own destiny. Have you heard of Avril Lavigne? She's known for songs like "Complicated," and "Skater Boy." Lavigne dressed however she wanted despite being known as weird. Everyone made fun of her clothes and music, and now people love her. Fitting in can be fun, but being you is wicked.

3. The DUFF

Duff stands for "Designated Ugly Fat Friend," and this movie is about a girl who is the Duff of her friend group. It's not that she's actually ugly or fat, but in her group of friends who are skinny and popular, she has earned this title despite her friends not agreeing. The best way to explain it is with this quote from the movie, Wesley 'Wes' Rush says, "It's not like a big deal, every group has one, you know the one who doesn't look as good, thus making their friends look better. The one who is easy to talk to because no one's trying to get with them. You friended up! Good time!- "The DUFF."

We are all geeks, even the people who don't want to admit it. Even the kids who are popular will have someone look at them and think, "Wow that's so lame, what a geek." Everyone is different, no one person is the same no matter how many time you will try to fit into the norms of society. You absolutely are not the same as anyone. Someone will think that you are someone else's Duff but you are who you are. You don't need to pretend to be someone else in order to be cool. The coolest thing is being true to yourself. So accept yourself and be proud. You're you and there will never be anyone else like you.

4. Confidence

In the words of Demi Lovato, "What's wrong with being Confident?" And the answer is nothing. One of the reasons why someone can be considered popular, and by association, cool, is because people are attracted to people who are confident in their skin. It doesn't matter if it's platonic or romantic, confidence is cool. It pulls people on and makes them want to hang around you. Now I'm not necessarily saying that all geeks have confidence, not all "popular" kids have confidence. There are the ones who do, and despite them being a little weird and at times quirky, they're surrounded by so many people that it's cool. Popularity doesn't mean that you're Regina. Being popular means that you're heavily liked, and the movies seem to sometimes forget that the popular kids aren't always mean. Sometimes they get along with everyone and that's why they're popular. They're surrounded by people because they're fun and nice and people like that. So why can't geeks be popular if they have that same confidence? If having it is cool, then cheers to all those labeled a geek. Be fierce, and stand strong. Keep your head up and look forward. Confidence is all about accepting yourself for who you are, even if you don't like those traits about yourself. Those little things are what make you, you. So look in the mirror and call yourself geek. If being a geek means you love yourself. Then there is nothing cooler in my books.

5. Pansexuality

You don't have to be pansexual to understand this last point. Pansexuality is all about personality over looks. You like a person for who they are not what they look like. I'm not saying Geeks are unattractive, because they're actually not. Vin Diesel, Liam Payne, Zac Efron, Naya Rivera, Megan Fox, and Julia Roberts are just a few celebrities who are incredibly attractive and consider themselves to be geeks. Though that's not really the point. Sometimes looks can blur our focus and make us forget about what's really important which is what's on the inside. A guy or girl can be super attractive and have nothing else going for them but looks. They can be attractive but psychopathic. Anyways, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so we can't really say that someone is unattractive anyways. Though, back to the point, this time I mean it, seriously.

You don't chose your best friend because of their looks, well I hope not anyways. You chose them for their personality. You want someone who you're compatible with. You want someone who could be your significant other and your best friend all at once. You want someone you can have fun with and just relax with. You want someone who is real and true to themselves. Now you may be wondering, what does this have to do with being a geek and why it's cool?

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, being a geek is defined as "A person who is socially awkward and unpopular: a usually intelligent person who does not fit in with other people," but people seem to also forget about what it's also defined as which is a person, and the definition that I've been using to write this entire article.

A Geek is, "A Person who is very interested in and knows a lot about a particular field or activity." Sure, a geek is typically seen as the person who dresses weird, a loner, no friends, socially awkward, and all that good stuff, but let's not stereotype, shall we? Being a geek more than anything is about being yourself. It's about personality. You don't want someone who is just faking everything about themselves for social norms, do you? You want someone who will be themselves, no matter what. You want that person who is fine with having a fangirl moment because they just heard their favorite book is getting a movie, or their favorite sports team has won the finals. Being a geek is the norm now, it's cool, especially when you accept that part of yourself.

But all in all, as said by Bianca Piper, "In the end, it isn't about popularity or even getting the guy. It's about understanding that no matter what label is thrown your way, only you can define yourself..." -The Duff