Revenge of the Geeks by Alexandra Robbins: Outcasts in High Schools

The article “Revenge of the Geeks” by Alexandra Robbins, explains how high school outsiders become stars in the “real” world after graduation. In high school, every ones put into a box, stereotyped, where if you don’t follow what everybody else is doing, you’re blacklisted. Kids don’t understand that what makes them different from everyone else makes them special. Being popular seems like the most important thing in the world as teenagers, that if people know you, life will be better, easier. People are afraid of rejection, and high school, is the capital of rejection.

Outsiders have the upper hand in the real world, unlike their “popular” classmates do. they know it takes hard work to get some where in life and their prepared to fight. When mega star Lady Gaga was in high school, she was bullied for wanting to be different, unique, a singer. now she’s one of the most successful women in the music industry and still very unique. Some former classmates of Michael Phelps bullied him for his “big” ears and arms. now being the most decorated Olympian of all time, there he’s trademark. People think that if they look a certain way they’ll fit in, but Jessica Alba, considered one of the most beautiful women in the world, was bullied for her unique Latina features. Geeks, nerds and outcasts all benefit from what made them outsiders in the first place. Christian Bale was excluded by his classmates because he was an actor, now he’s an Oscar winner, who also happens to play Batman. When people pursue their passion, their dreams, high school is just a bump in the long journey ahead for them.

High school isn’t only filled with outcasts and nerds, but with jocks and cheerleaders. The ones everyone loves to hate, the ones that have it easy, until graduation day that is. Popular kids have all the power in high school, the looks, the girls, the “friends”, but once they throw that graduation cap to the ground there’s power shift. The kids who worry all through high school to make sure they fit in, are probably not the future leaders of America. That may not always be the case though, the star quarterback may go pro or the pretty cheerleader may become an actress or model, but most of the time, the mean girl never grows up and the jock loses his way. High school is a mandatory passage to adulthood, though some kids never grow up, it’s the beginning of the rest of their lives. How people do in high school academically defines their future, how they do socially defines them right there.

In some ways, the person who said “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” was wrong. words hurt, but what’s worse is that people believe them. The loneliness fades, the name calling stops, but what stays forever is the idea of them thinking that they felt or did something wrong. Some of them may know it gets better when they get older, but most don’t believe it, they need to know that being different is a strength, not a weakness. They need to know the person you are in high school, cool or not, is not the person you’ll be for the rest of your life.