# Were you popular in high school **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 17, 2010, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-popular-in-high-school/529295 "2010-02-17T04:32:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-popular-in-high-school/529295/61 "2010-02-18T01:53:16Z")
I was a very easy-going, low-key kid. Kinda bookish, mildly nerdy, not at all athletic, introverted and a bit of a loner by nature. So I wouldn’t call myself popular. But I was also friendly and not a complete social cripple. I generally got along with most everyone and was never really harassed that I can recall. My particular school was also highly diverse, fairly liberal, laid-back in its own way, with rather diffuse cliques. I had a few close friends and a great many genial acquaintances. No enemies and only three or four people I rather disliked ( and they were all harmless non-bullies - it was generally a case of shared mild distaste and contempt ). So I dunno. Somewhere in between, I guess. High School was neither a horror, nor a shining high point from my POV. I have mostly mildly pleasant memories, I guess, though nothing really thrilling, either ( I lost my virginity _after_ HS 😛 ). ---
**Author:** ![Lucky\_13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucky_13/32/13209_2.png) [@Lucky\_13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucky_13)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-popular-in-high-school/529295/62 "2010-02-18T03:20:18Z")
I was not “popular” in the homecoming-queen, head cheerleader sense of the word. Everyone knew me though, as “that girl who’s always in the library.” I joined several clubs at school, so I could have somewhere other than the library to hang out. There were a couple of groups of people I ate lunch with over the years, but I never really considered them friends so much as “people who tolerate me enough to let me eat with them.” I did have one male friend who I would eat lunch with sometimes, when neither of us had other club activities. I had an on-again, off-again crush on him, and he was the one I asked to the prom when it became obvious I wasn’t going to go otherwise. He later wrote in my yearbook that he wouldn’t have gone if I hadn’t asked him. As for the popular crowd, they treated me with friendliness mixed with condescension, at best. I attended a couple of parties they threw, and they amused themselves by trying to get me drunk. This was junior year, when I thought that if I were more popular I might finally get a boyfriend and be less lonely. Only I went about it the wrong way, apparently. I tried to run for student office, but one of the jocks filled my election petition with fake celebrity signatures, effectively ruining it. I also tried out for football mascot, and made a fool of myself at the tryouts. Senior year I gave up and concentrated on trying to get into college instead. I finally got a bunch of friends my sophomore year of college. ---
**Author:** ![pudytat72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@pudytat72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pudytat72)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-popular-in-high-school/529295/63 "2010-02-18T06:10:02Z")
I was called “the walking mass of gray matter.” Later in life, I really identified with the comment the mother(Kathy Bates) made to her son (Adam Sandler) in “WaterBoy”: "You are lacking in what they call them ‘social skills’. I voted No. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f08c70/32.png) [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-popular-in-high-school/529295/64 "2010-02-18T16:31:07Z")
No for me as well. Unfortunately, I had an older sister who was two years older than me and a real hell raiser. Growing up, all the teachers would admonish me ahead of time and say “I hope you’re not like your sister”. Some of the other kids who had sibs with my sister would ride me and try to see how tough I was. I wasn’t either. So I just tried to blend in. Fortunately, this was with the metal heads. I hung out with them, wore the concert T-shirts, and played hackey sack. Definitely not the alpha dog, but more middle of the road. Unnoticed and unbothered. I liked it. Although my popularity factor did rise when I was the first in my peer group to get a car. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-popular-in-high-school/529295/65 "2010-02-18T16:38:18Z")
I was very popular but not really liked. For instance, I hated drugs and didn’t do alcohol and was strong enough to stand up and say so. This got me a lot of party invites, but the only reason I was invited was that the kids would says “But Mark’s going, so it’ll be OK.” And the parent would say “Oh if Mark’s going it must be OK.” Now I could care less what you did, but I didn’t drink and but if everyone else did it didn’t bug me. I was highly intelligent so people like to hang around me for answers and I was good in athletics where you didn’t have to aim 🙂 I had the problem that I skipped a grade so I was younger and I was very smart so I was in advance classes. My freshman year in high school 4 of my 6 classes were full of seniors, so while they’d talk to me, they didn’t want to be my friend. And I can understand that. I had no issues speaking my mind on whatever I thought, so that was a mix. It brought me respect from the teachers and the kids when they saw I would stand up to the teachers. I would also stand up for myself against anyone, which got me enough respect. Like I remember one time in gym class we had to pick sides and I picked all the crummy kids. The coach was like “Mark what are you doing?” I said, “They never get to play so I’m pickig them. Sure we’ll lose but at least they’ll get to try.” 🙂 By the time I was 15 I was in college and that was a social nightmare. Which looking back I understand. No 19 year old university freshman wants to hang out with a 15 year old kid. But I liked high school, fortunately I was pretty self-actualized and I always accepted people for what they were and I was smart enough to see people for what they were, if they were using me or not, so I didn’t care. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-popular-in-high-school/529295/66 "2010-02-18T16:53:47Z")
I asked every girl in my class to the prom and was turned down by all of them, even the ones who weren’t asked by anyone else. I was a complete virgin until I was in college, but I made up for it then. My children were all popular when they were in high school. Perhaps I was a good example of how not to act. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![UncaStuart](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncastuart/32/404_2.png) [@UncaStuart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncaStuart)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-popular-in-high-school/529295/67 "2010-02-18T18:14:39Z")
Graduated in 1965. I think I fall into the well-known but not classfiable as “popular” category. The school class social strata had pretty much been determined by second grade, and for a number of reasons, included a speech impediment that wasn’t overcome until fifth grade, I wasn’t a part of the popular stratum. In high school I was yearbook editor and would have been drum major of the marching band and concertmaster of the concert band if I hadn’t decided that the editorship would suffer if I spread myself too thin. I was part of a group of jokers who were the go-to guys for pranks, parodies, and funny skits for school functions. So, well known, but not popular enough to be elected to class office the couple of times I ran. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-popular-in-high-school/529295/68 "2010-02-18T18:43:18Z")
I was painfully shy - to the point that I rarely even talked to people in the halls at school. By the end of HS I did have friends, played some sports and went to school activites. Turns out I was not as invisible as I thought, a good number of people knew me and a few even wanted to get to know me and couldn’t because I was so “stuck up.” Wow. Here I thought I was unknown and unlovable - others thought I considered myself too good for them. I got a total of 5 signatures in my yearbook, mainly because I didn’t know what to write so I didn’t ask anyone. In the end, it turns out that most kids in HS are normal. Hollywood does us all a disservice with the way they depict High School. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-popular-in-high-school/529295/69 "2010-02-18T18:44:01Z")
Not popular to the entire student body. I had my circle of friends that I was quite content to hang with and I didn’t really care about the rest of them. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-popular-in-high-school/529295/70 "2010-02-18T18:45:02Z")
It was never my goal to be popular. I’m much more comfortable with a small, close group of friends than many surfacey friends. I’m still like that. 90% of my time is spent with the same small circle of friends. So while I wasn’t popular, I certainly didn’t miss it. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-popular-in-high-school/529295/71 "2010-02-18T20:33:36Z")
Apparently the girl I asked to the senior prom had already been asked out by some other guy. It’s my understanding that she then totally blew him off after I asked her. So basically, if this was some sit-com or Hollywood movie, I would be the asshole who stole some nerds date. > [@shiftless](#): > > In the end, it turns out that most kids in HS are normal. Hollywood does us all a disservice with the way they depict High School. I always like the original American Pie films (not the idiotic direct to video spinoffs) because the sort of depart from the classic 80s John Hughes film “clash of youth cultures” stereotype. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-popular-in-high-school/529295/72 "2010-02-18T21:08:34Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > I can’t really say yes or no…my high school was small enough that everyone knew everyone. Even the “popular kids” did, what I gather from some people, are traditionally “unpopular” things, like band, chorus, academic bowl, certain sports (ie, not football, basketball, or baseball) etc… > > Hell, even two of the “coolest” kids in school would play Magic: The Gathering with the “nerds” during study hall. My answer is a lot like this. There were cliques, but so few of us that there had to be a lot of overlap. If some jocks hadn’t been AV nerds we wouldn’t have had an AV club. I don’t think anyone envied me, but pretty much everyone was friendly. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-popular-in-high-school/529295/73 "2010-02-18T22:10:30Z")
I went to School A in 9th and 12th grades, School B in 10th and 11th. Ninth grade, I ate lunch by myself a lot. My best friend was a girl who was better friends with someone else. Tenth and eleventh, I was friends with the girl nobody else liked and I wasn’t crazy about her either. I kept in touch with some friends I’d met in another town during the summer. Twelfth grade, my brother was in the same school, so I wasn’t terribly alone, and then the stoner group took me in, so I suddenly had lots of friends. Yay weed and beer! ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-popular-in-high-school/529295/74 "2010-02-18T22:55:20Z")
I was relatively popular. Everyone knew me since I was literally the BMOC I also was the second best athlete in my grade and took all of the honors classes but slacked enough to be cool. I had a tight group of friends of whom I’m the only one who isn’t living within a 5 mile radius of each other but we still talk monthly. Because of them I didn’t party much since they weren’t popular and I’d rather hang out with them. I did drag them to the cool kid’s after prom party senior year but we ended up leaving early. The girls I dated were either from my social circle or other schools although on cheerleader had a crush on me I ended up not dating her since she dated one of my friends on the football team the previous year. So I wasn’t the most popular kid but the homecoming queen and I are still friends 9 years later and I’m really looking forward to my 10 year reunion. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-popular-in-high-school/529295/75 "2010-02-18T23:33:10Z")
No. I ignore people as much as I can and I’m odd. But people generally think I am interesting/amusing and seek me out, and I’ve never been bullied (well, people have tried, but it didn’t work at all and they gave up shortly). I’ve always been part of a close-knit group, never been friendless despite moving a fair amount during my school years. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-popular-in-high-school/529295/76 "2010-02-19T00:27:13Z")
Depends on who you ask. Like a few others have said, I went to a really small school, so there wasn’t too much of an in-crowd mentality, but we all knew who the cool kids were. While not unpopular, I didn’t feel particularly popular, but a couple years after I graduated I became friends with a girl who’d gone to high school with me. When someone else asked her why we hadn’t been friends as kids, she said, with utter sincerity, I’d been too popular for that to happen. Huh. The real reason I never spoke to her in high school was because her psycho friend accused me of sleeping with her boyfriend and I avoided all of pycho’s friends. ---
**Author:** ![Sleel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Sleel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleel)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-popular-in-high-school/529295/77 "2010-02-19T02:41:24Z")
I wasn’t popular, but I wasn’t a complete loser. It wasn’t until my senior year that I found out how many people actually knew me. I was nominated for one of those semi-cruel awards like, “Most likely to know the answer to a Jeopardy question.” By then, I had enough maturity to not really care about it, which is probably why I didn’t get teased. In a school with about 2000 students, over 500 in my graduating class, standing out enough to get even that much notice was probably more significant than I thought at the time. I was a late bloomer socially, so it wasn’t until around the end of my junior, beginning of my senior year that I started to get a handle on how to deal with people. Kind of ironic that that was when I had the most turmoil in my life. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was about 16, and died shortly after I graduated. I probably got more popular partly because I didn’t really give a shit about anything that was less life-and-death than that. I also got involved in the speech and debate team in my senior year, which got me used to public speaking and gave me exposure to some of the hijinks teenagers get into on away-trips. Note to teenage boys: speech can help you get laid. You get to meet a lot of people, you’re dressed up, and you’re in extrovert mode. I got phone numbers from girls who were previously out of my league (I just tried it for the hell of it, and it worked) a few cuddle sessions, some with kissing and groping, and a few later dates through speech competitions. I’m a completely different person from who I was in most of high school. The way things are done at college and university was much more suited to me academically and socially than high school. ---
**Author:** ![Oregon\_sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/50afbb/32.png) [@Oregon\_sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oregon_sunshine)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-popular-in-high-school/529295/78 "2010-02-19T03:08:11Z")
Bahahahahahaha! No. I was bullied throughout most of school, later made friends at a neighboring high school and a few drinking buddies at my own, then began a “normal” life once I started college. ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-popular-in-high-school/529295/79 "2010-02-19T04:20:47Z")
I was relatively popular. Not in a beauty sense, was a small skinny girl with glasses and ugh metal braces throughout. But, was relatively smart, in a lot of clubs, and always got elected to the top of those, for whatever perception. I suppose it was because I was an honest and decent person by nature as a youngun. I took it seriously, and tried always to do best by elected position. Teachers thought I was a great student. Senior year, was up for Smartest, Funniest, and Most Artistic. Got the latter. I was never happy with life in that high school, though, and always felt a weirdo. At graduation summer, got the braces off, grew my curly hair out, and , wow, the boobs came in. I fled to college, and have never been back since. ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-popular-in-high-school/529295/80 "2010-02-19T07:29:44Z")
I was the much the dorky, nerdy dweeb that everyone loved to torment. I hated several of my classmates and had few friends. I could never even get a date from the less attractive girls. I was never invited to any parties (not that I would have wanted to go to any of them). My worst years were in junior high when, because I didn’t talk to girls and was afraid to show any interest in them, a lot of classmates thought I was gay and treated me as such. For the most part I was quiet and withdrawn and avoided most of my classmates as much as possible. As much as I like to reminisce upon the pleasant moments of my childhood, my memories from school are not amongst such recollections. Glad that shit’s over. I’d hate to go through that hell again. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-popular-in-high-school/529295.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-you-popular-in-high-school/529295.md?page=5)