What happened to the 'popular kids' from your high school?

[Anonymous]

I recently got dinner with an old friend from high school. We were reminiscing about our high school days and started discussing the 'popular kids' who made us feel so insecure at the time and were somewhat mean. We realized that very few of them ended up doing much of anything, for example:

Girl 1: Never graduated college, works various part time jobs.
Girl 2: Despite always having a serious BF throughout HS/College (who always gave her elaborate promposals, fancy gifts, etc.) is unmarried - posts ad nauseam about various men and her relationships that never seem to last long.

It makes me realize how silly it was to care about these things back then.

What are the popular kids from your school days up to now?

[Anonymous]

Popular girl became a real estate agent in Maryland.

Popular boy inherited his dad’s staffing agency, which provided toilet and office cleaners to malls and office buildings.

[Anonymous]

I'm 38. The popular kids at my high school weren't mean or bullies. I'm sure some of them were but not to any one that I knew. At least by the time we were in high school. The mean kids were a different group. For context I grew up in a wealthy suburb of Boston.

I don't know about all of them but from what I know, they are all where anyone else is at this stage of life. Some are incredibly successful. Some are happily married with families. Some are divorced. Some haven't had as much success. I can say that none of them "peaked in high school" or had their lives be a total failure or something like that.

[Anonymous]

No idea. I left the area.

[Anonymous]

I wish I knew then what I know now.

I still remember how during high school it appeared all of the popular girls were having so much fun everyday.
Oh how I yearned to be just like them > surrounded by many friends (including all the cute boys!)

My life seemed pathetic in comparison. 😢
Now due to social media I have seen these people grow old & now seem like just “regular” folks - like me.

One girl who stands out in my head was a girl who at the time was considered the most pretty, + popular girl of our graduating class.
Everyone wanted to be her friend it seemed and I thought her life seemed perfect.

Well she got married & had three kids.
She had a beautiful home, her and her husband had great careers and online she had many photos of not only her beautiful family but of parties that they all enjoyed around the pool of their enormous house!

Yet she eventually was diagnosed w/Stage 4 lung cancer and afterward her husband had an affair, then left the family.
They sold the family home and she moved into a tiny apartment.

She sadly eventually succumbed to her cancer at the age of 43 after a significant amount of suffering.

Changed my entire perspective on life.

[Anonymous]

Graduated in DC in 04. All are club promoters or physical trainers.

[Anonymous]

You people and your jealousy and your schadenfreude ...

DCUM must be almost completely full of unattractive, uncool people desperate to be cool or something. Because the volume of these posts is depressing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You people and your jealousy and your schadenfreude ...

DCUM must be almost completely full of unattractive, uncool people desperate to be cool or something. Because the volume of these posts is depressing.

This. Imagine spending your whole life being jealous of someone and blaming them for making you feel like your life is pathetic and only getting over it after they lose everything and die.

[Anonymous]

I have no idea and don't really care to know.

[Anonymous]

No idea! All I know is that they were in charge of organizing the reunion. So all I can infer is that they have a lifelong desire to be at the center of group social life, which … good for them?

[Anonymous]

I went to a small private school (not in DMV). Popular boys are in venture capital, popular girls are either SAHMs or some hobby job. There is a group of like floaters or semi popular girls who went on to be in Silicon Valley/big law / doctors (they were all much smarter than the party high school girls). I was really surprised at what happened to the mega popular girls, they weren’t mean and I liked them (they were always nice to me). And they all moved back to our hometown which is odd.

[Anonymous]

My high school was too big to have a single group of popular kids. I think most people are just out there living life?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No idea. I left the area.

+1. I wasn't bullied, but I have no curiosity about the people I wasn't friends with at the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have no idea and don't really care to know.

Interesting.

Reunions are designed for people who are the opposite of you:

- many want to know how their friends, classmates, or even enemies faired later in life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No idea. I left the area.

+1. I wasn't bullied, but I have no curiosity about the people I wasn't friends with at the time.

I wasn't a townie. I was a hick from a farm a few miles out of town. The town had a population of 500, so hick is relative.