You'll Hang with the Right Cohorts

"We are, arguably, governed more than ever by what's popular."
-Bloomberg Businessweek

While mowing the lawn today I began to think about an article in my business magazine about the most popular products in the market and how they are truly dominating our lives. That thought then shifted to personal popularity and how it truly dominates some of our lives.

Personal History
I have never considered myself popular. I was one of those kids in grade school and Jr. high who always wanted to be "cool" and chill with the popular kids. Let's be honest, I was a short, skinny kid who had TERRIBLE acne and wore dorky circular glasses, thus my chance of getting into the popular crowd was about as low as Justin Beiber going out of style within the next several months. I did have friends though so don't think I ate lunch in the bathroom stall or anything like that.

High school is where things began to change a bit. I lost the glasses and miraculously lost the acne. Popularity became unimportant but the desire to be known still existed. Many still knew me as the nerdy kid from Valley so gaining traction within the "in-crowds" was difficult but I didn't care so much because I was established in my group of friends. Yes I eventually became Student Body President which at Valley was the epitome of popular but I want to point out that I ran for VP uncontested and due to our president resigning, I became president. I still never felt quite popular even in that position. I guarantee that while saying goodbye at our end of the year assembly, half the student body thought "who is this guy and what is he doing on stage?"

My Point
Here is my overall point that I have come to discover: popularity DOES NOT matter. Yes it matters to businesses when they are developing star products and politicians as they sneak their way into getting elected but to us normal folks, who cares?? I've come to realize that I don't want to be known, rather, I'd like to have several really close friends who accept me for who I am and for what I'm not. That's actually how I have lived my life and it's worked out perfectly so far. So for those of you in the sometimes terrible world of high school (and college, don't think for a minute that popularity doesn't exist in college), forget about it. Stay close to your friends and don't ever be something you're not. I've learned the hard way what it's like to leave friends behind so that you can be with the cool kids. It sucks! Don't do it.

However if you could care less about what I say and still want to be popular then listen to this woman who teaches how to be popular (like it's a golden egg or something).