WHY THE POPULAR KID??

It is not easy to be a teen or sometimes to live with a teen. The communication gap, the identity crises, the relationships with friends, the pressures of having a better understanding of the future –
ALL of it makes it tough on both parents and teens.

But where do these frustrations come from?

Nearly, 99.99% teens don’t learn to manage or handle these issues until they are adults, and even then it’s not that they are evolved. It’s more of “sweeping it under the rug” that comes into play.
So, what if I told you that all this inner turmoil could simply melt away?
All the frustrations experienced on a day to day occasion could simply disappear?
You’d think it’d too good to be true. Well, it is too good and so true!
I keep writing in the “they, their, them” language. But in reality, I am still of that age, and instead of looking back at my years in middle school and high school and wishing I had done things differently; I lived my best self then and there and do it now.
I graduated early being one of the top in my class. I was friends with nearly everyone, got into a good college without the extra stress feeling good about myself inside and out. In terms of an empowering phrase, that is about being supportive of my peers, I was “popular.”
The shift took place my sophomore year of high school. I didn’t have a major “movie” transformation, you know, that moment where the character has a girl/boy pow-wow montage of changing their clothes, hair, etc. And for comedic relief, the character helping them transform provides delightful, witty punch lines as if they’re Anna Wintour. None of that. I had me and mirror and honest talk with myself to be grateful for my transformation. The moment I decided who I actually was and wanted to be, things started to change.
Each student has several images they carry inside: their inner image which holds their views of themselves, their outer image with is what they project to others, their other image is what others view them as, and their life image which is what they see life to be. Due to the inaccuracy and hypocrisy of these images, a constant turmoil is occurring inside.
When I speak, I cover these images as well as five major topics: school, confidence, bullying, relationships.
At the end of my talk, every student is provided the tools to rewrite their powerless ideas about life and themselves into empowering ones.
They also leave knowing that popularity isn’t just realizing you are your own boss, but also celebrating you, enjoying who you are and allowing others to enjoy who they are, it is constantly celebrating uniqueness and oneness of that uniqueness.
The one idea I want them to leave my talk is that they are not a final product, but rather a possibility.