In a day and age when the nation's youth is spending hundreds of dollars to keep up their images for themselves and their friends, popularity has also grown to be very important to them. Teenagers these days must feel that they are socially accepted and wanted, and some teenagers are willing to do anything to get this social recognition. Teenagers want to feel that they are part of the "popular" crowd and sometimes it can get absolutely ridiculous and absurd to see what lengths some adolescents will go to just to be accepted. This can include sexual activities, drugs, vandalism, and of course spending large amounts of money to improve their image. I find it utterly repulsive that modern day teenagers are willing to risk their health and lives over such a trivial thing like popularity.

I once strove for the popularity that has its grasp over so many adolescents. After moving to a new town, I ached for new popular friends, and I learned the more I tried to fit in, the more I was not accepted. However, I kept trying, only leading me to more heartache and loneliness.

After several months of this solitude, I made friends with people who helped me discover what true popularity was. It took several harsh lessons to learn that all you needed to receive recognition and respect from people was to make valued friends and to be kind to others. I can only hope that all teenagers learn the real meaning of popularity without experiencing rejection as I did.

By Howard Yuan, 16 year-old

Copyright 2004
The Institute for Youth Development
P.O. Box 16560, Washington DC, 20041 703-433-1640