[Duke]

I was a fairly average student in high school. Didn't do much to make me stand out in the crowd and really only participated in tennis. My friends were a little out there and huge Rambo, death by lead type nut bags but, for the most part, pretty normal. Not many of us had spiky, off colored, off length hair but then that may have been more the times than anything as we're talking about the mid 80's.

I can say the kids in my school that tended to receive more attention (good and bad) had much more character than I did. By character I mean they acted in a certain way, dressed different, or were much more vocal, not that this is a bad thing. Of course when you chose to stand out from the crowd it tends to bring extra attention to yourself, not all of it being positive.

We also had the typical social class structure, as I'm sure they do in today's school and it's likely to remain that way far into the future. Classes such as:
- rich kids
- poor kids
- jocks
- skids
- stoners
- potheads
- tramps
- nerds
- brainiacs

I'm sure there's plenty more but they escape me for now. The funny thing is, that I knew kids that fit into one or more of each class and fit in fine with the crowd while others were picked on, teased, bullied, etc. The funny thing is the kids that had the worse time of school were the ones that drew the most attention to themselves or took it too seriously.

Where am I going with this? The only thing I can suggest to anyone who may be experiencing trouble in school due to peer pressure or bullying is to learn to laugh at yourself. Be at peace with yourself as much as possible and try not to sweat the little stuff or overreact. Kids can be extremely cruel and many seem to attack once they sense weak prey. Unfortunately school isn't as much about learning to many as it is about where they fit in the social structure.

Another thing that will help is if you are experiencing too much pressure; try talking to someone about it. It doesn’t have to be a parent. Just communicating with someone can open up a world of ideas you never considered and help immensely. It’s also handy to try and look at yourself through others eyes.