Popularity
Popularity can mean many different things to different people. Some people think of movie stars and celebrities, professional athletes and rock stars, and politicians and entrepreneurs. The definition is clearly pretty subjective. In a high school, where all of these are absent, the definition of popular is no clearer. It is not even clear whether everyone thinks being “popular” is a good thing. 
To some, being popular is synonymous with being “well known”, which isn’t necessarily a good thing. A lot of people are known around campus for not-so-good reasons. Some people who are known around campus for one reason or another will act boastfully, thinking that this notoriety is a sign that they are well-liked, but this isn’t always the case. Often times this sort of behavior can cause negative feelings and even resentment towards these people.
One component of popularity has become social media. In the days of MySpace, having the most friends was a sign of popularity. As Facebook, Twitter and Instagram become more prevalent, piling up the “likes” and “retweets” are indicators of someone’s popularity. The more people “like” a post or picture, the higher the person’s social standing. People will plan out their posts, often saying “Oh, I’m putting this on Instagram!” or another site when something interesting happens. All this is in the hopes of getting a large amount of likes.
While kids our age value social media and it can influence and reflect someone’s popularity, it is not the only thing that matters. In fact, people don’t just magically wind up with hundreds of friends and/or followers. They have to meet these people first. Being popular on social media is at least partially related to being considered popular at school, because without followers and friends there is no one to like or comment on a post. That being said, it is not completely clear what makes a person “popular” in general, or what sort of people are considered to be “popular”. Athletes are the classic example of high school popularity; “jocks” are thought of as cool and popular. But, contrary to what movies would have us believe, there are other ways to be popular besides being the starting quarterback. While talented athletes are often well known, so are others who represent the school well in other ways. An example of widespread popularity that completely defies the stereotypes is the fame of Garrett Reineke. A recently graduated senior, Garrett was in numerous drama productions, often in the leading role, and was universally admired and celebrated by his classmates.
Popularity doesn’t depend upon any one factor, and it can’t be judged in any one way. Furthermore, it is not clear exactly what is meant by “popularity”. To some it means one thing, and to others it means something completely different. Some think of being “Facebook famous”, and others associate popularity with being the captain of a successful sports team, but there are examples of people whose fame defies expectation. At the end of the day, popularity is very subjective, and what really matters is that people are genuine and themselves. Being genuine is more important than being popular; if everyone at West Hills was concerned with trying to be “popular” it would be a very boring and very fake place.
