WARREN, Michigan, U.S.A. — “Stand Out to Fit In” was the title of last year’s yearbook at my high school in Michigan.
As much as us journalism kids hate the yearbook kids, I have to admit it was sort of a good theme.
Although standing out won’t exactly help you to fit in, who wants to fit in anyway?
The point of high school is to prepare you for the future.
If your goal is to be successful, you need to stand out. Otherwise, you’ll just end up in a cubicle somewhere, just like all the other “cool kids.”
It’s such a shame to spend 40 bucks on a shirt, if 12 of your closest friends already have it. Why not save half of that, buy a shirt you really like, and start a new trend? Because fitting in is a waste of money, if you ask me.
Shopping at a thrift store will not only save you money, but you can find some really cool stuff hidden at The Salvation Army.
Besides being a waste of your hard-earned cash, fitting in is boring.
When all of your friends are clones, you don’t get much variety in conversations, and your friends all want to do the same things. The parties all start to look the same after one semester, too.
Fitting in is generally lame. If you want to be a cool kid without sarcastic quotation marks around it, you have to stand out.
Take it from someone who has tried it, and hated it: fitting in is no fun.
Just be yourself, and high school will be the time of your life.
Liane Harder is a Reporter for Youth Journalism International.
