Being an Outsider
"That kid's a dork! All he ever does is homework. He doesn't even get drunk!" These are one of the many stereotypical statements that are constantly being made among teenagers of various age groups. Why is it that the kids who get good grades, who don't play sports, or do not drink and do drugs are always considered dorks or nerds? It seems as if these types of individuals do not fit in with the "in-crowd", or the popular groups. What qualities does a certain individual need to have to fit in, and what qualities do they lack which makes them not? Many people struggle, and do things that they normally wouldn't do to be accepted into the in-crowd, while others don't seem to mind at all and are perfectly happy with their social status. There are several small aspects that separate the in-group from the out-group, and vice versa.Popularity was determined by only few factors at the high school in which I graduated from. The popular kids were either those that partied, those that did drugs, and those who played sports. The individuals who were not into any of these activities simply were not popular. They were not all necessarily looked down upon by the popular people, but they certainly were not welcome in the clique. Some of them we
It isn't the individual that makes him or her an outsider, it's the standards that are set by other individuals. It's all in the eye of the beholder. One group's idea of being popularity is another group's idea of being an outsider. Many people set standards of what they think is or is not "cool". If other people do not meet up to these standards, then they are automatically stereotyped and looked upon as being an outsider. Most of the time, the idea of popularity fades as people get older and go beyond high school, although popularity is not the only thing that can set a person a part from a certain group. The idea of being included or excluded from a group of people will always remain. It exists in other things such as racism, and sexism. The standards that our society sets for people will always remain, and every one at one point in their life will be classified as an outsider, and there isn't much we can do about it. In high school, I wasn't considered popular, or a dork, I was floating about some where in the middle. I could get along with a few of the popular people because I occasionally liked to party. Also, I got along with some of the people who were considered "dorks". I never really cared too much about popularity or status. I got along with mostly everybody, and didn't care about what people thought. I liked to converse with some of the so-called "dorks" because they were interesting, and humorous in their own way. I admired the way that they were content with who they were and felt no need to impress a certain group of people. On the other hand, I have to admit; sometimes they could be rather boring. It seemed as if they never wanted to go out and have fun, they were more homebound and liked to stay in and read, or play video games. I also liked hanging out with some members of the in-crowd because they were always active and loved to have fun. The thing that I disliked about this group of people is that they looked down on other people, such as the "dorks", and
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1343
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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