That's a question I've been asking myself for a long time. What truly makes someone popular at a high school? In fact, why is popularity even a thing? From what I've observed over the years, I've realized that all the kids at my school who consider themselves popular have at least one of three things: The looks. A large ego/a significant amount of arrogance, or a lifestyle worth boasting about. But, what I don't quite understand is why any of those things determine if you're more popular than the person standing next to you.

What I think is wrong, is that the popularity label actually exists in a high school. I've grown up believing I needed to look and act like all the other popular kids in order to fit in and avoid being an outcast. If I didn't do one thing, then I wasn't cool. If I didn't wear makeup, then I was too ugly to be popular. You see that kid over there? Go pick on him. If you don't, you're not as cool as me. What, you're too afraid to smoke? Well, guess I'm better than you.

Does any of that actually make sense?

It's not just the students, it's the teachers too. I've seen how teachers favor certain students because one can do something another person can't. I mean, how is that fair?

This whole popularity thing confuses me beyond belief because I don't see how any of those things actually make someone look "cool"? We are all equal in this world, so how does one thing make you better than me? I may not be as pretty as all of the "cool" girls, but I'm still beautiful. And I might not drink or smoke, but I'm still pretty freaking awesome. I'm just as popular in my own world as someone else is in theirs.

In the end, what we need to do is to stop believing in a corrupt system that separates people based on who they're told they have to be and who they choose to be. No one should be obligated to be a certain person in order to gain recognition at a school. Quite frankly, no one actually needs recognition in the first place. The girl who sits at her desk and reads for hours is as awesome as the captain of the football team. Just because one is well known and the other isn't doesn't determine where they rank in popularity.

We are all popular in our own ways.

So, when are we all going to start living by that?