This one goes for men and women alike, but I thought I’d write about it because I find the topic of teen angst and relationships very intriguing, remembering my own as an awkward teen who was preoccupied with thoughts of popularity and wanting to be liked.  Ehem, hope I don’t sound too pathetic there, I think everyone else knows what I’m talking about!  I remember being envious of the kids that this genuinely seemed to not matter to. 

In fact,  being so shy and awkard as a student at my high school, I think that the reason I thought about this quandry so much was that I am by nature an introvert, and introverts tend to think to themselves a lot and ponder things and gather their energies that way.  Talk about a bad combination in high school!  Being unable to communicate with my peers as well as being a natural introvert was pretty much a recipe for disaster in the popularity category for me. 

Not that I care at all now.  As an adult, I think that not being part of the popular crowd when I was younger has actually made me work all that much harder in my adult life.  It built a lot of character, and made me realize how important it really is to be nice to people and treat others how you would want to be treated. 

Apparently, recent studies have shown that for teen men and women, it does not really matter whether you really are in the popular crowd, or whether you perceive yourself as well liked and popular, you will be equally as likely to have a higher self opinion and self esteem, and therefore happiness, as you would if you truly were in the in crowd.  So, you see, it really is all about self perception, if we could only teach the youths out there that exact thing, then maybe teen angst would be a thing of the past.  Like I said though, I do think it creates and builds character in most kids.