Popularity’s Price in High School

The truth hit me on a Friday night. At the game. She didn’t sit with me.

She sat with them. Cheer squad. Football players. People who looked like they belonged

together. After the game, she texted me: “We need to talk.” She said dating

me was “too much pressure.” That people were talking. That it “wasn’t

a good look” for her. I didn’t argue. I just nodded. The next week,

she was dating the quarterback. Everyone acted like it made sense. But I learned something.

In high school… Popularity decides who you’re allowed to love. And who you’re supposed

to leave behind.