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We’ve all heard it many, many times. It’s a cliché at this point. “She peaked in high school” or “High school were her glory days.” There is this notion in the ether that most people know and understand which is that often—not always but often—being very popular in high school winds up not being a good thing for someone in adulthood. In movies depicting high school reunions, we see that the football quarterback and cheerleading captain are still together, but they hate each other, work minimum-wage jobs that they disdain, have eight children that they don’t really want, and are cheating on each other. Yet, they still have the entitled, holier-than-thou attitude they had in high school. That’s not exactly how being popular in high school affects someone. Most people grow up, evolve emotionally, and don’t marry their high school sweetheart (and shouldn’t). That being said, I’m here to confess that I’m a former popular girl. I know, I know—you want to throw figurative stones at me. But I am here to talk about the real ways being popular in high school can mess you up.
It puts emphasis on your appearance
Let’s be honest: there’s typically one reason a girl is popular in high school, and that’s her appearance. All because of the way she looks—something she didn’t even necessarily do or earn—she gets everything she wants for a while. Doors are open socially. Older boys like her. She’s voted class president.
