Don't hate me because I'm popular

In sixth grade my friends and I would sit in the "middle room" during lunchtime. The middle room was the small rectangular room between our classroom and the classroom next door. It was where the bathrooms were (boys on the left, girls on the right) and also where the large trash bin was kept.

It was glorious.

We'd close the doors, which each had a square of window that allowed for just the right about of privacy and just the right about of snooping, eat our sack lunches (or, in my case, shrimp flavored ramen noodles given to me by Pim, my family's Thai exchange student) and chat about all the important things 12-year-olds have to talk about.

Then, our teacher told us we couldn't eat in there anymore. He said that it made the other kids feel excluded. My defense was "but they aren't our friends". Initially it seems harsh, but upon greater reflection I don't find it too shabby an argument. We weren't actively excluding anyone. I was sitting in the middle room with the people who I had the most in common with, the people that I got along best with, the people who I had fallen into a friendship with. Why would I go sit next to someone who liked Animorph books or cried all the time in P.E.? Nothing against them, but I just wasn't interested in pursuing a friendship there. Groups form naturally- it's not about being "cliquey", it's just part of our organic social instinct. What angered me was the fact that my group of friends was no different than the groups sitting in other areas of the classroom. The other kids had never approached us and asked us to join them. Why were we the ones being punished?

It was this moment that first alerted me to the phenomenon of disliking something that is perceived as "popular". If a once underground band gets any sort of mainstream airplay it will often be accused of "selling out". Along the same line, those who say things like "the Beatles are overrated" are plain and simply kidding themselves. I am skeptical of people who claim to dislike objectively good things, like chocolate and babies. People who throw around the now worn-out and boring line "I hate kids" are so ridiculous that they might belong to a separate category of those who hate something merely because they're selfish downers.

Disliking what's "popular" is the result of two experiences:

1. Genuine dislike (this is rare, but it does happen and it's completely well-founded)

2. Fulfilling ones need to establish individuality and uniqueness through negative means

That said, I never got into Furbys and I don't care much for the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I promise it's not because I want to distinguish myself as a free spirit.

IN OTHER NEWS, the World Cup is going to end next week and we're all going to have to figure out something to do instead. It seems tragic to think of soccerless days, but it's an ever-encroaching reality. Golf is not going to cut it as a replacement. Mad Men Season 4 starts on July 25th, so it's only about a week and a half that must be filled. I suppose I'll try to get some work done during that time.

Siiiiigh, I am going to make some dinner now. It's between a PB&J or scrambled eggs/toast. The first option is easy and the second option is actually still easy but just seems hard compared to the first option. We'll see how I feel when I'm in the kitchen.

Love you,

Marg

P.S. Babies and chocolate are both wonderful things when they are separate entities. HOWEVER, these "baby-shaped chocolates" are just disturbing: