High School Life.

In the documentary American Teen it clearly shows the cliques that are common in most high schools around the world. This film didn't really surprise me or shock me in any way, just because not only do I witness it with my own sister but I've been through and around this sort of atmosphere myself. I believe that at my high school these cliques do exist, no matter how hard we try to deny it. There are about three or four centralized groups in this school. It's a lot different than the movie because we live in such a rural area, and we're not as big on sports and scholarships like the U.S. is. In my opinion, more rural schools like ours aren't as bad for having cliques, just because we're such a tightly knit community and we don't have a very wide range of cultures and races. I was never really part of one clique in this school, but I'd have to say it was geared more towards the "Popular" side of things. Being in the group that's the main centralized popular group means; Partying, drinking, smoking, wearing nice clothes and being friends with the right people, even if that means backstabbing people to get to the top. I never really got to experience being left out in high school, so It's a bit hard for me to relate. Although I think that cliques really shouldn't exist in a high school setting, it probably won't ever change. In my opinion it's useless that teenagers even try so hard to fit in when their in high school. It's four years of your life, why try to be someone you're not to gain a reputation for a place you'll be leaving in four years? High school is a place to not only learn but to find yourself. I think that without all the cliques, groups and pressure in high school it would be a lot easier for teenagers to find themselves and realize who they truely are.
I've seen the pressure myself when I talk to my sister every day, it's quite obvious to me that she feels as if she's not good enough. She stands in front of the mirror for a good 20 minutes every day and changes her outfit about three times before she's satisfied. I've also seen how manipulative teenagers can be in order to get to the top in a high school, many times. In my opinion this is detrimental to school culture, in many ways. First of all, usually this marginalization of teenagers causes some teens to become someone they aren't, by trying to act like a leader of one of these groups. Second, it's harder to keep your mind on school when you're so worried about where you fit in. Overall, I believe that these groups within schools change the way teens think of themselves and the way people look at them.