CATHERINE CASEY Grade 8, Christ the King Regional School, Haddonfield

Teacher: Judy Grisi

How important is it to be part of the in crowd? We all have great expectations. Everyone at one point in their lives wishes that they could be popular; it's only human. Dennis Wholey once said, "Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is a little like expecting the bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian."

This statement can be related to many different scenarios. Although many of us may want to be in the "in crowd" it doesn't necessarily mean that it's going to happen. The type of people that you hang around with defines who you are. The in crowd might not be popular for the best reasons. If this is true, what's the use of associating ourselves with such people and situations? The world's not always going to be fair. Kids will mock each other, friends will be left out. It's how we react to these situations that really show our character. If we allow ourselves to be put down by others, we'll never get anywhere. There's nothing wrong with being popular, if it's for the right reasons.

Maybe people like you because you're funny, nice, or easy to relate to. It's great to have an abundance of friends, and people who like you for who you are. I love all of my friends, and I really don't know what I would do without them. It doesn't matter if we're the in crowd or not. All that matters in our minds is the fact that at the end of the day we are still there for each other. We understand each other, and have built our relationships to last.

Many movies and TV series are created based on the different worlds of the "outcasts" and the "in crowd." Some are about the main character striving to be popular, and some are about a group of friends that isn't popular, and is fine with it. In every incident, it turns out that as long as the main characters have their closest friends, everything goes well. Their closest friends are the ones who know who they really are, and love them for who they are. They may fight, but it's those friendships in our lives that keep us going. The name that labels our group of friends isn't important, it's the people who make up the group that mean the most to us.