“For god’s sake, I’m exhausted! I have so many remedials today!” I say as we sit in the cafetaria’s chair.
Carla, my classmate and also my bestie, sit beside me. She looks at the menu on the table as she starts to rambling about her grade, “Me too. Why am I getting F in English?! It’s like the easiest subject ever.”
“But you got A in Math in which I got F!” I cry.
That’s right; I’m not a mathematics goddess, or a genius that always got the first rank in class. I’m not the one who's a teacher's favorite. I’m not the most popular student in school so I am extremely busy with party and didn’t pass the test. But I’m not a nerd who get bullied every after school.
There are several cliques in High School. The popular, the party won’t even going without them. Their names filled the gossip lines that we often heard or talked. They knew everyone (or pretended to be). But they act like they knew everyone, and they looked down on the others. Well, they always have a party every holiday, and a cool boyfriend. They’re always nice to other kid, but in the back, you could be the one they're talking bad about. And it’ll ruin your name as soon as it spreads. I believe you already know all of this (and understand pretty much of it). I'm just telling you how it is in my school. It maybe the same like yours but maybe not.
The mid-popular. They’re not too popular, but they are known. They’re nice to almost everyone, but not talking bad as much as the popular. The mid-popular often a group of friends that also acquainted with the popular but managed to still become friend with others and not only hang out the the popular. I have a friend who’s a mid-popular. At first she’s nice, but then as soon as she realizes she’s actually quite similar to the popular, I can feel she’s changed. Just like that.
The nerd, they’re always get bullied. Often in the class or after school time. Maybe not bullied like get hit or a fight. But the popular one harassed them and teased them with bad words. The nerd likes to play card and they’re almost always got the first rank. And usually the nerds here don’t always the one with braces and glasses. If you aren’t in a cool after school activity, and many of the popular didn’t know you, then, you’re the nerd.
And the last, Me. I’m not categorized to the mid-popular just because I almost know everyone, and everyone knows me. I’m not also the nerd that always got the first rank. My friend and I called it the mid-nerd. We’re not the popular, also not the nerd. The reason why everyone knows me, includes the popular, is because the popular talking bad about me. And the news spreads pretty fast. I remembered one of my mid-popular acted like they don’t know me at all. When I greeted her (I always greet people I know. It’s just like my thing since I was junior high school), she turned around and left me. Wow. I mean what the hell is going on here. Turned out I was the one who filled the gossip line now. At first I felt quite annoy with their attitude. But then I realized, well, if they really talking about me. So be it. I don’t give a care, anyway.
Let’s see to the positive things, I am not the nerd, because almost everyone knows me for my bad that I didn’t ever do. And about other gossip that I personally know it wasn’t true. And other positive thing is, I know which one of them who doesn’t want me in their life. “I don’t need someone who doesn’t want me in their life” that’s a quote from a movie.
At least now I have a wonderful nice friends who always there for me. No matter the popular was talking bad about me. Because they like me for who I am, but not what they heard I am.
I join this not-so-known after school activities, traditional music. I joined them because they are very interesting but aren’t desirable by the students, because it is a traditional, duh. Here we are in the modern era and we like pop and rap music yo!
In fact, I sorta like rock music. And I really love pop music. But that doesn't mean I must forget the traditional ones, right? Especially from where I live right now. We have variety of amazing original cultures. If we aren’t aware of its special cultures, who did?
After our activity heard to the popular and mid-popular, and also the nerd. There are some of them joined our group at last. Because there aren’t bunch of us, we are pretty close to each other. And now I feel like we’re uniting in here, the popular, the mid-popular and the nerd. It’s like New Directions in Glee.
And I kept asking myself, why, why we can be this close, when actually in the reality of school reputation we are totally different labels. And the answer is, because we tend to see and judge others by labels rather than the real person is. Just like I did before. The popular, the mid-popular, the mid-nerd, and the nerd. We even labeled ourselves with the labels they gave us.
I admit we may be different but we are the same underneath. We all have vulnerabilities and fear. We love and we hate. Let’s say, we often have to read a few chapters before we can gain interest in a book. How is it possible to know what the book will be like just by viewing its label? “Oh, this is horror, and this is sooo bad.” or “Oh, this is romance, and this is very cheesy”. You didn’t even read the title or cover. Just the labels they had. It’s ridiculous right? But that’s what we tend to do, anyway.
When you finally see someone, know someone really deep. We begin to realize that we share, deep down, the same fears, triumphs, degradations and insecurities; a common bond.
We just have to be willing to realize deep down and find a way to relate. We need to learn to care about other people and accept them as individuals rather than people we just don't like by their goddamn labels.
I know, labels can make everything become quite easy. You can find the book you search by its label. Imagine books without label, it’s like “I don’t know what this book is. It looks horror but it’s a cook book or something.” It’s confusing. But back to the topic I have discussed, we can’t judge the book by it.
The point is, we should be more willing to accept people because we are all human after all. (I know, duh). No matter you’re popular, nerds, gay, black, Muslim, Buddhist, smart, or idiot. But admit it, it easier to be said than done. But let’s we walk just a mile in someone else’s shoes. And it makes a world of differences.
