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Denis Fontanini

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Why do kids create social cliques in high school? Do they hinder the growth of others?

I am a Highshool Senior and see this all the time. Cool kids, Girls thinking that there all that. But what I have noticed that has become a problem in my mind is, does this hinder the growth of the other people in the school. When Senior Ball, or Homecoming comes around, and the vote for the king and queen come out, it only contains the "Cool Kids" or the "cliques". What about the other kids, don't they get a chance? ( yes I am one of those other kids). I'm not trying to sound like I want to be there im just noticing a pattern. And I feel bad for the other kids. So what is your input, personal experiance? Any thoughts in general.

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  • William Seitz

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    Feb 19 2013: Humans are biological social animals. We like to "have a pack" and our belonging to a pack is part of our identity. Part of that pack association is defining boundary lines. By defining people as outside your group you tighten solidarity within the group. Outside of high school you can affiliate with a religion, a country, or a political ideology. Part of this definition is defining who is outside your particular group. It's "us" versus "them".

    Not having a strong pack can be painful and it forces you to struggle more with your identity since you don't have the pack to help you with a sense of identity. Sometimes this struggle can have positive outcomes (high academic achievement by 'nerds') and sometimes negative ones (anti-social behavior by 'loners'). Where ever you fit in the spectrum of pack versus individual you should try to use it to make yourself a better person.

    Now a couple quotes since I have space...

    "He who attends to his greater self becomes a great man, and he who attends to his smaller self becomes a small man." - Mencius (couldn't find the Mencius quote I wanted, but this one works) [translated from Chinese]

    "There is no one who does not carry scars on the heart. If there were someone in the world like that, it would be a shallow soul." - Hiei [translated from Japanese]

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