There are two types of people in high school; the ones who find themselves, and the people who lose themselves. This all depends on if one gets washed up in the trap that is high school. Walking these halls everyday creates a routine of seeing the same people and hearing the same things. It is hard not to fall into the stream of unoriginal people, caring way too much about what others think. People base life off of others opinions and that isn’t how it should be. There are people in school who all dress the same, speak the same, and act the same. No one is truly unique anymore and if you are, then that is impressive considering this generation is obsessed with being like others. People constantly are doing everything to impress people who don't actually care about them. High schoolers need to take a breath and look at the person they are becoming and decide if this is who they want to be.

The people that lose themselves are the followers. These people are lured into the idea that being different is not okay. They care more about their image than who they actually are. There are always people who have friends for the wrong reasons. Maybe because this person is really cool and can get us into parties, or because this person is rich and will take us here. Being friends with someone for the wrong reason is just one part of losing yourself. The people who go down the wrong path of being themselves focus too much on what they look like to others. People focus an insane amount on how many "likes" and "favorites" they get on a picture or tweet. There are girls who will even delete things offline due to not getting "enough likes." Virtual footprints don't define someone as a person. There isn’t a reason to feel the need to post something just to make oneself feel important. People can't truly tell who someone is from what they post online. They can get an idea, but not a full understanding. If people didn't care so much about looking good on social media, then they could be more in touch with their personalities and actions toward people in real life.

People who follow others can never really find themselves. People who go along with others just to look "cool" end up losing themselves as a whole. High school is high school and after graduation none of it is going to matter. Why follow someone who you are never going to see again after these four years? People all dress the same and shop at the same places. The way people look gives them a label; poor, preppy, trashy, lazy, etc. No one wants a label that is looked down on, so everyone just dresses how they think others will accept them. People should be dressing for themselves, not to impress others. With people not being themselves, the same images and ideas are being recycled over and over again and become boring. People are all following what they believe is the right way to look, but everyone should look how they want to. Being a follower forever never gives one a sense of originality causing them to not reach full potential. If people would just do things how they want to without other opinions impacting them, the world would be more creative and there would be less stress.

On the bright side, there are people in high school who find themselves. These are the people who don’t care what others think and believe in themselves. These people aren’t necessarily leaders, but more people who beat to the sound of their own drum. People who find themselves are surrounded by people they genuinely care for and enjoy. They have things in common and are supported with their friends. These people can dress however they want and decide what they think looks good. They aren’t living a life run by others, they are taking control of how they want their lives to be. Finding themselves also involves doing the things they love. These people have a passion and work hard to get to where they want to go. They don’t listen to people telling them no. People need to focus more on what they want, other than what people want for them. Everyone’s lives should be based off of what they enjoy, not what everyone says is the right thing to enjoy.

Too many people get caught up in the popularity factor of high school. The insecurities running through the building are at an all time high because of the different views society has for the average teen. Being pressured to “fit in” is stressful and shouldn’t be the standard for high school. Why should there be a satisfaction of being exactly like everyone else. People won’t go places without knowing what the others are wearing. People won’t put themselves out there in fear of “looking stupid” in front of someone who most likely doesn’t even care. The followers are not going to be happy with the people they end up to be. When high school ends these people will realize they are lost, and have to start over in finding themselves. The people who stand out and dare to be different, will have friends for life. These people will continue to thrive off of passion and feel content with being themselves. One day people will realize that it isn’t about what you look like to others on a screen, or if you mess up every once in awhile. What it should be about is being happy with the person you are.