by Marie-France Lemire

Created on: April 15, 2008   Last Updated: April 17, 2008

I am a person anyway you look at it I am just like anybody else. I have a beating heart, blood coursing through my veins, a face and a soul just like every other human. So I am still asking myself this question, if we are all the same why are things like peace and prejudice, love and hate, racism and discrimination still issues today? Peer pressure and high school cliques are what really affect teens today.

What is being "popular"? I am amazed at how I can be popular with some people and be completely ignored by others. We all have been witness the materialization of the "in crowd" cliques found in every teen movie. If we refused to conform to what society considers normal(being rude, mean , conceded, self centered) and saw everyone as equals no popular crowd, no cliques, just people nobody would feel left out or miss out on sharing special experiences with friends. Having a large group of friends is great just as long as they are good friends, and good people who care about others feelings. No one has ever had the right to judge someone else, they never have nor will they ever. However with popular comes the question of cool.

My definition of cool, being you in everything you are and showing how you really feel. Being cool should not be a definition based on what you wear or who you talk to! I mean if we consider "cool" wearing 700$ sunglasses or 1000$ bag or only wearing 300$ jeans. The sanity is? Kids and teens spend thousands of dollars in their young lives being labels from companies and designers who don't really care what their labels are doing to body image and self esteem. Being cool should be being yourself whether you're wearing 20$ sneakers or 150$ boots, being who you are is always in style. I wish everyone saw it that way, because if you are not the cookie cutter image of what you see on TV or in magazines you are asking to be ridiculed. Please tell me how dressing in jeans and a t-shirt is different from another person wearing the exact same thing but designer. Being cool is understanding that being you is cool.

Weird is a label I don't like. If you do the slightest thing out of the ordinary you are weird. I've been called weird on countless occasions for talking or spending time with someone who might not have lots of money, or who doesn't have a thousand friends. I have to say that talking to people which I call social interaction is a good thing. If you enjoy school or are really interested and passionate about a certain subject you are

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