Who's Who in the Zoo

You know how in TV-shows whenever there is a school there are cliques, you know, jocks, nerds, cheerleaders, scene kids, stereotypical hip-hop crew, well in saying all these groups are stereotypes. Now with real life many of us would say “That never really happens” but we all know they do, the cliques are just more subtle and less categories. They can some be in a hierarchy system. There are the most popular kids and it gradually makes its way down. I’m in the British education system and in the 6^th and 7^th years where I do my A-levels, much like the show ‘The Inbetweeners.’

Recently I realised a way in which you can measure and identify who is the most popular, although you will inevitably identify your ‘place.’ A sitcom. I know it sounds dumb but take the show ‘Friends,’ the main principle characters we all know and love (Chandler, Ross, Joey, Phoebe, Rachel, Monica) obviously these represent the most popular kids within the year. Then the kids below them in the hierarchy are characters who you know but aren’t in every episode, characters like Günter, Janice, even Marcel the monkey. It gradually makes its way down. Now I’m not saying that people are unpopular, people will be popular among their peers and I feel that can be all that matters but on the ‘Bigger Picture’ their not. For myself I’m the ‘David the scientist’ and Fun-Bob category, memorable but not huge.  At least I’m not Eddie or Ryan (Who? You might ask….. That’s my point.) I’m saying people in this ranking are ‘outcasts,’ in a way I admire these people, they tend to be people who care not for popular in the year.

Now I know I seem like a very morbid person with a crackpot theory to popularity but I’m not. I like where I am, in the middle. Here I can interact with my fellow students, I say ‘can’ because it’s an option. I’m not at the top and therefore subject to focus and gossip and I’m not at the bottom where I am not included in activities. People like me but I don’t make a massive impact on their lives, to be able to do so I would need to go that extra mile and I’m not desperate.

Another ridiculous theory is that popularity is like being sorted into Hogwarts houses. The popular kids go into Gyffindor. Other kids go into Slytherin; these people tend to get on people’s nerves and are a little bit disliked, though this dislike is usually non-direct and in the form of passive-aggression. There are the kids in Ravenclaw who don’t get too much attention; I would like to think I’m in Ravenclaw. Then there’s Hufflepuff. For any Harry Potter fan I doubt I need to explain myself.

At the end of the day I could be totally wrong, this is just from my experiences. And these are just theories, like the blackhole theory or the theory that God exists (Just saying) You can take no notice of any of this but you might find yourself seeing this the next time your in school but I must advise that you do not allow this to stop you from socialising or anything.