Cool kids don't stay cool

[alabamagal]

Good news for all parents that worry that their kids are not cool:


www.foxnews.com/health/2014/06/12/cool-kids-dont-stay-cool-forever-study-suggests/?intcmp=latestnews


The "cool kids" in middle school may not be so cool when they grow up: A new study suggests these once-popular teens are at greater risk for relationship and drug problems in adulthood.


My kids went to a very small private school and were never quite in the cool group.  My middle son, in particlar was a very quiet, keep to himself nerd.  He was well liked but never really had any friends.  Went off to college and made a huge group of new friends and got a girlfriend, total tranformation.

[justme]

They could have given me the money and I could have given them study that's a slide show of my high school class. 

[souldoubt]

This isn't really earth shattering news to me. Times are definitely changing and there were plenty of 'cool' kids when I was in middle school and high school in the 90's who were in the Honors/AP/IB classes but by and large the 'cool' kids were athletes and kids who partied together on weekends. Many of them were burnouts within a few years of high school ending or ended up in careers that they didn't seem to be pleased with after not going to college.  

[thyme4change]

The cool kids from my high school are all executives.  I guess in my part of town in the 80's, we learned the work-hard-play-hard mentality.  

[haapai]

n=184
Or maybe 182 or 183.  I read another article (that I can't find now) that mentioned the sample size. 

[sheilaincali]

The "cool" girls from my high school spent way too much time partying and sun-tanning in their youth.  Judging by facebook they look to be 10+ years older than my pasty white ass

But honestly a lot of them ended up with good jobs/careers.  There are more than a few that I think are "fronting" on fb and don't have the glamorous lifestyle that the portray.  I think a few are in some serious debt - assuming based on their career and their spending habits and things they have let slip.

[Deleted]

OMG, a friend of mine at work and I were just talking about this today when we saw a mugshot of one of our classmates in the police roster.  He seriously looks like he's 65 years old now (he's 45) and obviously has some bad drug problems.  He was SO FREAKING CUTE in high school and definitely one of the most popular (especially with the girls).  He was a track star, affluent parents, one of the first to start driving himself to school, and not in a beater either...a pretty nice truck. 

 

[Bonny]

I was never in danger of being one of the "cool kids"!

[sheilaincali]

Yup- makes me glad my kid is a total Nerd   He and his friends are poised to conquer the world. 

My son is kind of a snob and has a serious disdain for the "jocks" in his school.  He comes home bitching on a regular basis every time one of those "meatheads" ends up in one of his classes.  Fortunately Advanced American Studies in 9th grade was hard enough to convince most of them to steer clear of the AP classes.  So by now his classes are full of the "smart" kids that are there to take their education seriously. 

He hated Health this year because everyone had to take the same health class.  He would text me during class to tell me what idiotic things the kids said. 

One day the teacher asked if they would rather live anywhere in the world but they couldn't return to the US or live in the same state for the rest of their lives.  One girl raised her hand and says "That depends, is Alaska part of the United States?"  And several others said "Yeah, is it?" sadly that was just the tip of the iceberg.  DS texted me to tell me about his dual-citizenship since he was born in Alaska  and to tell me what a waste of time that class was.

[Miss Tequila]

Jun 12, 2014 16:08:21 GMT -5 @missmargarita said:

My experience is similar to Thyme's... everyone went on to be quite successful. 

Mine, too.

[Virgil Showlion]

In all seriousness, the "cool" kids in my school were generally "cool" because their parents sweat money. The kids' chances of winding up working the janitorial shift at McDonald's was somewhat minimized.

ETA: Several--and by that I mean "at least 3"--kids did accidentally kill themselves, however. One in a car wreck, one in a motorcycle wreck, one due to a drug overdose. That was in a group comprising roughly 500 students over a period of 4 years.

[Bonny]

Jun 12, 2014 15:58:48 GMT -5 sheilaincali said:

One day the teacher asked if they would rather live anywhere in the world but they couldn't return to the US or live in the same state for the rest of their lives.  One girl raised her hand and says "That depends, is Alaska part of the United States?"  And several others said "Yeah, is it?" sadly that was just the tip of the iceberg.  DS texted me to tell me about his dual-citizenship since he was born in Alaska  and to tell me what a waste of time that class was.

LOL, one of my favorite orienteering sessions in AK was when the guides shared some of the stupidest questions. My favorite was what kind of currency do you use in AK?

And in HI, when you refer to the continental US you refer to it as "The Mainland" not "Back in the US"

[The Captain]

Truth - The guy I dated all through HS was a total geek.  He was from the local all boys high school and would come to do janitorial stuff after school.  We met when I was finishing up some cleaning in the cafeteria and hit it off right away.

It wasn't until toward the end of our sophmore year that I met his family and realized they were loaded.  You could never tell from this guy though (his sister, however - was a b!tch!).  He and his dad were as down to earth as they come.

He was a great guy in many ways.

[midjd]

Jun 12, 2014 15:52:13 GMT -5 Bonny said:

I was never in danger of being one of the "cool kids"!

But you are one of the "cool kids" of YM now!

[midjd]

My high school was very cliquey, but the cool kids came from several different categories. The ones who were cool because their parents had money, or because they were very good-looking, did not fare nearly as well as adults as the ones who were cool because they were extroverted and nice to everyone, or the ones who had some natural talent (athletic, artistic).

One of the rich kids in my class, whose parents own a chain of McDonald's stores in the area (and gifted him one) was just sentenced to two years in prison for sending naked pictures of himself to an underage employee. Our 15-year reunion should be interesting.

[Deleted]

I wasn't cool, but I was "popular." Everyone wanted to copy my homework or be my partner for projects.

[movingforward]

Jun 12, 2014 15:11:13 GMT -5 sheilaincali said:

The "cool" girls from my high school spent way too much time partying and sun-tanning in their youth.  Judging by facebook they look to be 10+ years older than my pasty white ass

But honestly a lot of them ended up with good jobs/careers.  There are more than a few that I think are "fronting" on fb and don't have the glamorous lifestyle that the portray.  I think a few are in some serious debt - assuming based on their career and their spending habits and things they have let slip.

The best thing about FB to me is seeing if people from high school look older than I do .  I admit I was popular in high school but not part of the "mean girl" group...  Actually a lot of popular people in my high school turned out to be successful.  When I say successful I just mean they ended up with good middle class jobs like teacher, marketing director, etc. 

[Bonny]

Jun 12, 2014 16:38:18 GMT -5 midjd said:

Jun 12, 2014 15:52:13 GMT -5 Bonny said:

I was never in danger of being one of the "cool kids"!

But you are one of the "cool kids" of YM now!

LOL, I'm STILL anything but "cool". And I only have a pink terry jacket. Not fit for wearing outside of the house.

[swamp]

Jun 12, 2014 16:08:21 GMT -5 @missmargarita said:

My experience is similar to Thyme's... everyone went on to be quite successful. 

[swamp]

Jun 12, 2014 15:58:48 GMT -5 sheilaincali said:

Yup- makes me glad my kid is a total Nerd   He and his friends are poised to conquer the world. 

My son is kind of a snob and has a serious disdain for the "jocks" in his school.  He comes home bitching on a regular basis every time one of those "meatheads" ends up in one of his classes.  Fortunately Advanced American Studies in 9th grade was hard enough to convince most of them to steer clear of the AP classes.  So by now his classes are full of the "smart" kids that are there to take their education seriously. 

He hated Health this year because everyone had to take the same health class.  He would text me during class to tell me what idiotic things the kids said. 

One day the teacher asked if they would rather live anywhere in the world but they couldn't return to the US or live in the same state for the rest of their lives.  One girl raised her hand and says "That depends, is Alaska part of the United States?"  And several others said "Yeah, is it?" sadly that was just the tip of the iceberg.  DS texted me to tell me about his dual-citizenship since he was born in Alaska  and to tell me what a waste of time that class was.

You do realize that some of us jocks did very well in HS, right?  And are actually sort of successful. 

[Bonny]

Jun 12, 2014 17:52:00 GMT -5 swamp said:

Jun 12, 2014 15:58:48 GMT -5 sheilaincali said:

Yup- makes me glad my kid is a total Nerd   He and his friends are poised to conquer the world. 

My son is kind of a snob and has a serious disdain for the "jocks" in his school.  He comes home bitching on a regular basis every time one of those "meatheads" ends up in one of his classes.  Fortunately Advanced American Studies in 9th grade was hard enough to convince most of them to steer clear of the AP classes.  So by now his classes are full of the "smart" kids that are there to take their education seriously. 

He hated Health this year because everyone had to take the same health class.  He would text me during class to tell me what idiotic things the kids said. 

One day the teacher asked if they would rather live anywhere in the world but they couldn't return to the US or live in the same state for the rest of their lives.  One girl raised her hand and says "That depends, is Alaska part of the United States?"  And several others said "Yeah, is it?" sadly that was just the tip of the iceberg.  DS texted me to tell me about his dual-citizenship since he was born in Alaska  and to tell me what a waste of time that class was.

You do realize that some of us jocks did very well in HS, right?  And are actually sort of successful. 

How can someone who got her BA in French Literature be cool?

[kittensaver]

The cool girls from my HS class all have really horrible facelifts . Back then, I experienced their bullying as meanness, not as insecurity. Now I know better. They pretty openly post their fears about aging on FB . . .

[tractor]

I went to an all geek high school, I was one of the few normal ones. We had no sports, so no jocks or cheer leaders. I guess the cool kids are the ones that played the violin or something. Some had money, some didn't, I was right in the middle. Most have gone on to be very successful, doctors, layers, politicians, and computer programmers.

I guess I was considered cool by them because my parents didn't make me play an instrument, I was friends with all the bad inner city kids at the neighboring high school, and I hung out (partied) with all the rich kids as well. In the end, being able to relate to all economic classes has served me well in my career, married a farm girl, live in the country, and have an appreciation for the arts.

The real cool kids were the geeks who spent all there time in the basement in the early 1980's playing with their fancy computers. Now the four I know work for Microsoft, AOL or Google and have 30 years worth of stock options to cash in.

[Deleted]

Jun 12, 2014 18:11:13 GMT -5 @missmargarita said:

Well I'm pretty dead set against aging... it's not that I'm insecure.. it's that getting older SUCKS!!! 

Actually, getting older doesn't suck. You aren't that worried about being fashionable all the time. You aren't that worried about redoing your house all the time. The "kids" go home with their parents. You don't feel as bad about hiring out stuff that you "could" do but don't "want to."  You can actually access that big wad of money, without penalty, that you saved if you need to.  And there are all those senior discounts!!!!  A drink at McDonald's for 50 cents?  5% off at Publix on Wednesday PLUS the penny coupon?  Wow!

Seriously, I love being 60. I think it's my favorite age yet. Students ask how old I am, and I am happy to tell them.  I have nothing to prove any more.  If I haven't proved it already, it is history.  I am an extremely competitive person, but I have already competed and won.

Getting old ROCKS!!!!

[swamp]

Jun 12, 2014 17:58:07 GMT -5 Bonny said:

Jun 12, 2014 17:52:00 GMT -5 swamp said:

You do realize that some of us jocks did very well in HS, right?  And are actually sort of successful. 

How can someone who got her BA in French Literature be cool?

I never said I was cool. But I was a jock in HS. 

[zibazinski]

I went to a crappy school. That being said, there was still a hierarchy and it was super funny to see the popular girls and guys ended up real losers. Like they couldn't get over the fact that in the real world, they weren't so cool. The rest of us that were just okay, made something out of ourselves.

[sheilaincali]

Swamp-  he's cool with a few of the jocks but some just drive him up a wall. I really think it's only about half a dozen annoying kids but he lumps them in together. Hey he wears bow ties to school on a regular basis amd had been actively shopping for a top hat to wear too. If mocking the dumb kids who ask if Alaska is part of the United States gets him through the day who am I to argue . 

FWIW- I was a jock in high school and on the academic decathlon team too. It's all good 

[Peace Of Mind]

Seriously, I love being 60. I think it's my favorite age yet. Students ask how old I am, and I am happy to tell them. I have nothing to prove any more. If I haven't proved it already, it is history. I am an extremely competitive person, but I have already competed and won.


Getting old ROCKS!!!!

I will agree with that part but looking old SUCKS!!  I'm fighting it every step of the way but hopefully in a realistic way.  No Alien face or fish lips for me!     I'd rather have wrinkles. 

[busymom]

LOL! I think zib, justme & I all went to the same high school.

Next time my reunion rolls around, I'll introduce you to our high school quarterback. He's the one with at least a double chin. The other members of the "popular" crowd didn't fare so well. Now the nerds, & the quiet folks that weren't in the "in" crowd, are doing quite well, thank you very much!

[Miss Tequila]

I just can't believe that every "cool kid" some of you went to school with sling hamburgers and got obese/bald, etc. it seems some of you are still bitter over not sitting at the cool kids table.

I'm successful, not obese or bald and I was a "cool kid".

At my last high school reunion there were some dorks that really blossomed after high school, nerds that were still nerdy (some successful some not), jocks that were still athletic and jocks that became round. There is no one group of people that singlehandedly let their bodies go to hell not any single group of people that became successful or losers. There were a few that shocked me (both good and bad) but I can't say that needs became successful while the rest of us never got over our glory days