Before entering high school, I thought the stereotypes in movies such as High School Musical and Mean Girls were a joke. Once I got to high school, and now that I am in my senior year, I learned that the stereotypes might be just a little true. Each movie has given us the typical groups such as jocks, which typically consist of attractive football and basketball players who lead a trail of pretty cheerleaders. You have the smart kids who are always doing homework and carrying several large books and the band students who just walk around school with their instrument 24/7 according to these movies. Then you have the “weird kids”; the underdogs, the wallflowers, the drama kids, the artists, the musicians, and the ones that just maybe don’t fit in anywhere.

These are the people who’d rather spend a Friday night at an art museum or cuddled up at home with a good book, than at a football game or party that has been all the buzz around school. These are the people who tend to have the most unique opinions during a class discussion and wear outfits that stand out from the crowd. These are the people who hold a special place in my heart. They helped me learn it’s okay to just be 100% yourself even if you fear not fitting in or losing friends, because then you will find more people who are just like you. You’ll find people who enjoy all the music from the 80’s that you listen to all by yourself, binge watch all the types of shows you like and have a deeply analyzed every aspect of the shows. You might find they get riled up about the same social and political issues that you do and it completely okay to go on a rant about it, because they’ll be doing that too. After spending just a little time with them, it becomes clear that it’s better to have a handful of people who just get you, than trying to impress people who may only want to be around you for their own benefit or just don’t care about you.

Now what will some other people around school think of them? When they’re in a class with these students, they almost automatically think “Oh, I’m in a class with a bunch of weird kids.” Everyone has to admit they’ve done that at least once in their life, but everyone has to get out of their comfort zone and have an open mind. I hope and wish that one day we can get past these stupid labels. Every group has their quirks and perks, so why don’t we all just share them? Why don’t we get past judgement, assumptions, and hatred so we can unite and better each other? The idea of seeing hundreds of people who are all so different from each other come together and having a great time is beautiful. I think one day we’ll get there. While I’ve got love for every type of person, the “weird kids” will always be the best.