Clique: an exclusive group of people who share interests, views, purposes, patterns of behavior, or ethnicity. This word is what most high schools are made up of across the country. High school cliques are individual’s comfort zones. They are where you are accepted by people that understand you and will never judge you. It’s like you’re in your own little bubble of ease that can never be penetrated. But, maybe this bubble that everybody is too scared of leaving is what holds us back from conquering our fears and really enjoying our entire high school experience to its fullest. Students all across America don’t realize the problems that cliques cause and what could happen if they were shattered.
High school cliques can bring out the worst in people. The most terrible thing about them is they lead to bullying. A clique is like a boundary and anybody outside of it is the target of being made fun of or talked about. Students make judgments about other students they barely know and most likely “judge a book by its cover.” Assumptions are made that are usually false about one another and make more and more people enemies. This can cause many of students to miss out on the opportunity of getting to know somebody who could have ended up being a great friend. Another downfall of high school cliques is not enjoying going to school because you have to deal with all of the people around you. Students are constantly insecure about themselves and feeling like there being looked at and being critiqued. It’s also torture for most people to go to a class with no friends in it and having to sit there for about an hour feeling tiny and uneasy. It’s like being in a prison for six hours a day, five days a week.
High school cliques need to be broken down and faced full force once and for all. But it’s a lot easier said than done. Students will have to break them down together. They need to stop judging each other and take a look around them. You only have four years of high school with these people. You walk in the same hallways, go into the same classrooms, and have similar routines but never seem to talk too many of them. Make this time worthwhile and talk to them because one day you will regret missing out on making new friends. Instead of making fun of them, get to know them. Make small talk and have a few laughs. You could only benefit from this. School could be much easier if everyone got along and appreciated each other’s company while they still can. Also to get rid of cliques, members of the staff could have a day dedicated to students getting to know one another. Barriers could be broken and friendships could be made.
Serenity: the absence of mental stress or anxiety. This is how high schools could be if cliques could be eliminated. Things could be easier for everyone if there were no such things as cliques. Only one clique should exist, which includes every person. Nobody will feel like they don’t belong, and everybody will feel at peace. Maybe one day, high school will not only be a place of learning, but a place of making friendships that will last for the rest of your life.