The Equations Behind Popularity

I am currently reading the book Paper Towns, by John Green. The most interesting character, I think, is Margo Roth Spiegelman. She is popular, but she does not seem to care what anybody else thinks; she just does what she feels is right and says whatever she is thinking. One day, she decides that since her boyfriend is cheating on her and her two popular “best friends” are pretty mean, she is going to play a specialized prank on each one of them. She does not even think that this might jeopardize her status at school. In fact, she became popular because she was confident and didn’t really care what people thought. It’s kind of ironic if you think about it: the people that are always trying to fit in are the ones that are the most insecure about themselves or always struggling to find themselves. The people that don’t really care as much, and are always just out there, are the people that end up higher on the totem poles of popularity.

In the story, Margo takes her friend Q along with her to break into SeaWorld. Why does she want to break into SeaWorld? For the sole purpose of breaking into a large aquarium at night. That’s it. When Q and Margo were driving away, narrowly avoiding the security guard, Q said something I found very interesting. “Margo’s beauty was a kind of sealed vessel of perfection. Uncracked and uncrackable.” She is Margo. You cannot change Margo, you cannot copy Margo, and she will always be Margo. Her unbreakable self-assureness is something that she won’t lose, something you can’t steal or copy. Even if you tried to imitate her, you would not be able to because she is so purely herself. Many people, even subconsciously, mold their personalities and who they are around society’s expectations. They wear what they wear, say what they say, and do what they do, almost always, because it is what will make them be viewed higher amongst their friends and other people. And every time they do this, they lose a part of themselves to society.

The reason Margo is popular and so well-liked is because she draws people to her like a magnet. They see her, and how she is 100% Margo Roth Spiegelman. Her uniqueness shines out from all the other superficial people in her school. She is unique because she lets herself be. The more you think about how you should act and say in order to raise your popular standings, the less likely you are to accomplish your goal. I think that this is a very confusing psychological topic, and I suppose if you decide to ponder the true meanings and formulas for popularity, the less likely you are to become popular.

 I'm sorry if some of the sentences I wrote are grammatically incorrect or just don’t make any sense, but this is kind of a hard topic to write about and make your points sound clear. And now, I guess, that I have observed the true meanings of popularity, by my new found understandings, the less likely I am to achieve it. Please feel free to comment.