The Cool Kids Stereotype

By Nikhila Nandini Chandrasekar

The cool kids. It all starts when a person enters their pre-teens. One day you are friends with everyone, everyone loves you, betrayal and hate are just out of the question. But one day you just wake up and it all changes; an invisible line is drawn in between to distinguish the ‘cool’ kids from the ‘uncool’ ones. Groups are formed, opinions are dished out and prejudice is formed . Now if any kid happens to check off the following (basic)criteria, then they are to be considered cool- they have social media, loads of friends, bunk classes, don’t care about their grades, smoke and have the latest devices. These norms weren’t set by me, no, they’re just stereotypes. Not all people who are consider cool are the same. Now the ‘uncool’ kids are generally thought to be the exact opposite of the ‘cool kids’. They obey the rules, avoid social media and try their best to be on top of the academic ladder. Now in between them there are some people who don’t fit into either categories. They try to blend in with the crowd their with. Coming back to the cool kids; who decides whether or not their cool? Well, it’s the people

around them of course. But why should people be stereotyped into a category? Everyone is perfect the way they are. Everyone is cool in their own way.Most people don’t realise this until it’s too late. The ‘uncool kids’ try to be ‘cool’ but they don’t realise that they already are cool. There is no proper definition as to who is cool and who is not but there are stereotypes we created in our heads.There is no hate against the people who are considered ‘cool’ because, like I said, it’s the People around them who declare them as cool. We need to stop categorising people based on their likes dislike, behaviour, looks and other trivial things. Humans have been pitted against each other since the beginning of time but there is enough place at the top for everyone . Because of stereotypes people waste most of their teenage lives trying to fit in with the ‘cool kids’ but never realise that their cool in their own way. Maybe the reason some people are considered cool from the beginning is due to their self confidence. Embrace yourself because you already are cool. You don’t need to fit the social standards to be considered cool. A little bit of self love and confidence can go a long way.We should realise that judging a book by its cover is never going to be fruitful. You’re perfect just the way you are.

By Nikhila Nandini Chandrasekar