Have you ever being around people that only care about being popular and only talk about doing “cool” stuff? Ever since I was a little girl I have heard this over and over again. I was never part of the “popular" group - I don’t know why and I don’t care now. But back then, it was kind of a big deal to me. It seemed that the popular people were always doing fun stuff, had people around them all the time, and it became a huge deal if they considered me as part of their group and treated me like it. Of course, to be part of the group had a price, but I would had done whatever just to be called one of the popular girls.

I believe that first impressions are very important, but they don’t mean everything. Sometimes those first impressions are deceitful and can blind us enough to think of someone as somebody that he or she is really not. This is what usually happens with “popular people.” At first, some of them look nice and very sweet, but the more I was around them, the more I got to know them. Sadly, most of the time it was very disappointing to realize that all that “sweetness” that they had poured out on me was just to entice and keep me around. When in reality, they were just being mean and rude.

When I came to college, I thought that all of the drama and the concerns about being popular were things that everybody would soon forget. I was surprised when I realized that it’s not. People here still think that these things are worth their time. In my opinion, it’s just so exhausting—trying to keep up to be the “cool people.” Seriously, like who determines that these or those are the cool people? It’s not worth my time to try to be like them.

I don’t want to say that all the people who are considered popular are this way. I have come to know some of the most loyal and trustworthy people in my life who are considered to be popular. But THIS is the difference—they didn’t plan on becoming popular. They were not looking to be “cool,” nor did they act fake in order to attract people. They were JUST themselves. They were being REAL. They let people into their lives. There were no rules or standards to become friends with them.

I prefer to focus on my own things and have friends as I go along with my life. I’ve been having amazing experiences with people that I will treasure for life and always remember. I don’t care about being popular, or doing "cool" stuff. I consider that to be very immature of people and not real. I want to be remembered for being exactly who I am. That should always be enough.