[Houston3000]

I went to a magnet school for High School. It wasn't private but you had to apply, get accepted, and maintain a 2.5 GPA to stay enrolled. For the last two years we only went to regular classes for the half the day and then, for the second half, we were enrolled in a technical program of our choosing where we earned a Tech Certificate after graduating. We had things like Graphic Design, Automotive, Networking, Culinary Arts, Optometry, Computer Programming, Nursing, Photography... really a whole range of subjects. The school was small though, I don't think we had much more than 200 students per grade level if even that many.

Keeping that in mind, everyone knew everyone, it was very much unlike what I imagine a traditional American High School would be like. There were definitely cliques but most of us would move between different ones throughout the years and, really, a lot of them would overlap dramatically. There were very few people in school that I wasn't friends with at one point, that I wasn't in the same social group with for at least a couple of semesters. In that regard I would say I was well liked for the most part, I was nice and had a pretty wicked sense of humor that everyone enjoyed. I hung out with friends all day at school (I'm was social and an extrovert, I wouldn't stand being a "loner"), went to parties at night, or out with friends after school.

The most dramatic change came in 11th grade when we started that tech program I mentioned earlier. I chose Graphic Design so for two straight years, I was literally in the same class with the same people four hours a day. A couple of my real close friends were in there that I ended up actually going to college with, otherwise I came to know everyone else extremely well but 75% of my social circle moved outside of school at that point.

High School was interesting times. Fun.

[Mulligan]

Fist few years of secondary school i was friends with the most popular group of people in our year, they were kind of the jocks of our year, although i wouldnt really hang with the really douchey ones. I came to the conclusion after a while that most of them were infact dicks so i started hanging with my closer friends a lot more but still remained fairly popular. I was generally considered the funny one by most of my year and quite popular with some females too. Also won 'ass of the year' in my yearbook, heh. So yeah, i guess i kinda was because i never really gave anyone a reason not to like me.

[The Skater]

I was generally well liked but not very popular. But I didn't go to public school but went to various charter schools. I had several acquaintances over the years but they came and went with each year and I didn't really hang out with any of them outside of school.

[frequency]

I notice a lot of connections in this thread between sports and popularity. That's so weird to me.

And generally speaking, GAF isn't made up of who I thought it was. It kind of explains a lot actually.
I'm a horrible person for thinking this...

[Luap]

Yes but I wasn't super popular. Though my older sister was, which worked significantly to my advantage. I also surrounded myself with a pretty good group of friends — football players, robotics-team nerds, soccer girls, and people like me who were generally liked by everyone. I didn't love high school, but at least I didn't have to deal with bullying or really any bullshit because I surrounded myself with the right people.

[Chinpoko_Master]

I was voted "Most likely to shoot up the school" in my high school yearbook.

But seriously, if there truly was a "Most likely to shoot up the school" category in the high school yearbook, I probably would've been a candidate. I remember someone once told me, "If I didn't know you, I would've thought that you were planning to shoot up the school."

Somehow, being quiet and keeping to yourself translates to "I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL ALL OF YOU." I didn't even know what to say to that, but I found it pretty offensive and I still do.

When I think of that, I'm just reminded that high school isn't even worth the thought.

[shintoki]

Nope. And I came home to the same exact type of shit too. Nothing like kids calling you a loser, followed by a teacher, followed by your own father. All in one day.

[Gav47]

I notice a lot of connections in this thread between sports and popularity. That's so weird to me. And generally speaking, GAF isn't made up of who I thought it was. It kind of explains a lot actually. I'm a horrible person for thinking this...

Only losers play video games.

[Huff]

Only losers play video games.

Unless its COD

[Stabby McSter]

My graduating class was pretty cool. Everyone was friends! At least that's how I remember it. :(

[Mr.Swag]

My friends loved me. And the people I didn't know? Well how the fuck should I know? If they didnt like me they never said anything. And I never asked.

Still friends with 80 percent of my high school friends. Well it's only been a year since graduation tho.

[Poyunch]

I wasn't sociable but people knew I was a nice guy.

I sort of got burned the first year and a half of high school so I became a shut in. I did make a group of friends but I really can't say I made any lifelong friends.

[ChubbyHuggs]

I was a dorky loner who most people got along with so I drifted in and out of groups, and I'm pretty sure everyone enjoyed my company, but it's not like they missed me when I was gone. I was more of a name then a person.

[Professor Beef]

Yes, actually. It was a bit of a shock since, aside from the small group of friends I had, I was mostly picked on/made fun of. The first year of high school was fine (clean slate, and all that). Then people found out my last name after the Mexican cliques found out my last name and thought it and I was cool, and after that it was smooth sailing for the next few years.

[seldead]

Yeah I was fairly popular. Pretty much friends with everyone for varying reasons, I was just really social and found it easy to talk to people. Most of my closer friends were of the jockish alpha male type but I could hang out pretty easy with the stoner skatey crew and the video games 'geeks', guys and girls were just really receptive to you if you were friendly and funny, similar interests help too. Obviously all these stereotypes are extremely shallow and there was an infinite more to all these people than the titles suggest, but you get my point. Actually won funniest guy at our year 12 formal as my high school claim.

Admittedly I mostly kept my gaming hobbies to myself and focused more on my musical interests (playing drums), footy and general cliche teen partying so I'm unsure how the possible stigma against it would have effected things, but I think it's much more acceptable than it once was. High school aint like an 80's teen movie anymore.

[The Technomancer]

I was famous, but I wasn't popular. Lots of people knew who I was (positively, I didn't have a negative reputation or anything) but it wasn't in a "talk to that guy, hang out with him" way. I was just a known presence. One of my old girlfriends senior year actually commented on how weird it was to hear two other girls in her class talking about me. A large part of that was my involvement in the theater program, which earned me a reputation for being a "genius" because of my engineering skills with set building and planning, as well as having a really stupid nickname.

[matt360]

My high school experience was amazing. We had our cliques for sure, but for the most part, people were really cool when interacting with people from the other circles. I played football and soccer, but I also skated and played a ton of video games in my spare time. So I had a bunch of jock friends, some skater friends, and several friends who played Magic during the lunch break. I was also in a punk band that was fairly well known in the Daytona area, so that probably contributed some to my popularity. But as far as I can remember, there wasn't much in the way of bullying at my school, and everyone got along really well. Oh yeah, and in 10th grade I fingered my girlfriend in the lunch line.

[ThisWreckage]

I was virtually a ghost in high school. I learned very quickly that if people don't know anything about you they will make up things about you instead.

[WoodenLung]

Yeah they did, the high school I went to was pretty small and everyone knew everyone. Pretty much had classmates over every day after school, that I lived like 100 meters away from the school probably helped that though.

[Bel Marduk]

gay and atheist.

went to high school in alabama.

not really.. but i didn't really want to be popular.

[Deadly Joker]

I was strangely popular for some reason. Everyone knew me. Which was weird because I am introverted and mainly stuck with a close group of friends and ignored almost everyone else unless they talked to me.

This was me, word for word.

[Kaizer]

I was sorta a guy that blended into several different cliques. The way our school was set up, you had the Magnet kids mostly in their own separate building, while the "normal" kids were in the largely ghetto part of the school.

Even though I didn't qualify for the Magnet program, I still ended up taking a majority of Magnet & AP courses after my Sophmore year. As a result, I had friends all over and was considered part of the "popula" American Eagle/Abercrombie & Fitch crowd, while maintaining my ghetto pass. I wasn't really popular in a sense, but I got along with lots of people and had good friends.

[Ra\/en]

University was where the real fun was at for me :D.

nevermind that high school crap.

[3N16MA]

Of course. Everyone likes me.

[Buddha Beam]

Everybody "liked" me in high school in that they would always come talk to me and such. I guess because I was good at making the jokes and stuff. I was also "famous" for doing things like running for god when they said I couldn't join student council, wearing a cape, painting my face like Darth Maul and stuff.
But nobody ever really "liked" me enough to invite me to parties or whatever. Because of that, I always had the feeling that they were laughing at me or thought I was making a fool of myself... but I could never be sure. Or maybe most folks just assumed I had my own thing going on or something.

Middle and elementary school, I had only one or two friends. Everybody else, especially during my middle school years, was either openly hostile towards me or wanted nothing to do with me.

It's a no wonder I have terrible social skills even 12+ years after graduating.

[Tawpgun]

No one hated me. Neutral for most. Liked by some.

[Giard]

Most of them didn't really care about me. I didn't really care about most of them.
Was picked on a bit during my first year, but it went better afterwards.

[Musha_Soturi]

I wasn't popular in school but everyone pretty much knew who I was. I fit in with a lot of different groups, I was academic, and musical, and a stoner metal head, and a geek. I was the one who put a band together and sang in front of the whole school at the sixth form concert. I was the one who asked the head of music to create a new category in the school eisteddford for compositions, just because I had written a song and wanted to perform it in front of everyone.

So yeah, I wasn't one of the pretty popular girls, but I certainly wasn't disliked.

My boyfriend was bullied at school for being fat (he wasn't, it was just normal teenage puppy fat). If only they could see him now.

[Kusagari]

I went to a huge high school, but a good portion of people in the school did know me. I wouldn't say I was 'popular', but I wasn't exactly hated. I got along with most people and had a core group of friends I hung out with. But I also hung out with other groups.

Nobody ever started anything with me either, which was a welcome change from middle school where I was literally bullied every second I was in the school. If that had happened in high school as well, I probably would have killed myself.

[Count Dookkake]

Started off as a nobody, a fat clown. Ended up as a fat clown on the homecoming court.

[davidnic]

Started High school as pretty much like a normal kid with cerebral palsy quiet with not many friends, but by the time I finish at the beginning of grade 12 the whole grade knew me cause I was determine in whatever I did and stuck up for myself.

[gerudoman]

Not really, I only had a very small circle of friends. I knew almost everybody and everybody knew who I was, mainly because we were few people in the classes, but I didn't have much relationship with people apart from the typical conversations in school, I would never have any relationship with them outside the classes. Worst thing was having to put up with an annoying nickname ("hey look, he's thin and wears glasses. Let's call him Potter!" How ingenious!) for 6 years and dealing with some cocky guys, but it wasn't bad.

University is being different though. In 4 years here I still haven't made a friend. I'm pretty sure I have the reputation as the weirdo that always sits alone in the last row and talks with nobody, but honestly I don't give a shit. I overcame this situation long ago.

[highluxury]

I was a loner and anti-social. Hardly spoke to anyone, nor did they talk to me.

Didnt help that I was mocked and bullied from the 1st to the 9th grade.

But thats, that. Life changed for good later.

[Octacamo]

No. Most of them used to make fun of me becoz i was overweight... i used to feel sad all the time... there were friend but no best friends to talk to...

my high school era was nothing to remember of... especially the disgust and laughs that i used to recieve...

thats when i got into gaming because that was the only medium for me to take out my anger... from the intense battle in tekken to street violence in GTA... after playing these game i was so much stress free....

after college i got busy with work and gaming is still going strong.....

[Alastor]

I wasn't bad, but I wouldn't call it great either.

I've made a few friends there, but knew no one outside my class. Didn't really hang out with people from school, had no girlfriends, but overall, it was pretty fun thanks to that few guys I've liked very much.

[Lace]

I'd say I was generally liked. I'm guessing playing sports helped things along for me.

[?oe?oe]

I finished High School 6 years ago. I was the weird, awkward guy in High School. I had a small group I hung out with, occasionally other small groups in our year would join for a day or so every so often. I never thought much of myself, but most people were nice to me.

Back then, large majority of my friends were male and I had trouble with women.

Now, most of my friends are female... and I still have trouble with women hahaha.

[Salvor.Hardin]

Teachers loved me and just about everyone else hated me. In senior year I was nominated for the position of Head Boy (known as the President of Student Body in American high schools), and out of a voting class of 300 students, I received 19 votes - most of them were from the staff.

It didn't help that my campaign strategy, while living in a Muslim country, was sticking up posters on which I wrote "Pro gay and pro Muhammad - How does he do it? Vote for (my name)" or "Jesus would vote for (my name). What would you do?". It was fun though.

[jaxword]

Teachers loved me and just about everyone else hated me. In senior year I was nominated for the position of Head Boy (known as the President of Student Body in American high schools), and out of a voting class of 300 students, I received 19 votes - most of them were from the staff. It didn't help that my campaign strategy, while living in a Muslim country, was sticking up posters on which I wrote "Pro gay and pro Muhammad - How does he do it? Vote for (my name)" or "Jesus would vote for (my name). What would you do?". It was fun though.

I'm surprised you weren't attacked for that. Did you receive any threats?

[RdN]

I went to two High Schools, and in both places I made great friends and really liked going to school.

[cajunator]

I think it was more of a case of people not really knowing what the fuck to think of me. I confused people pretty much. I was ok with that.

[Xun]

A few people, but not really.

I was picked on a fair amount during secondary school, and I'm still suffering the consequences of that now.

If it were up to me I'd relive my life from 16 knowing what I know now.

Fact in many ways I'd relive my whole life...

[Crescendo170]

I was a bit of an outsider in junior high, from being one of the most popular person in my earlier years. I've never been particularily awkward or anything, it's just that the alpha-male in my school decided he didn't like me, and thus the pack followed. I had some wierd friendships because of it; people who went from being my friend when this guy wasn't around, to heckling and laughing in my face when he was. It was a rough time no doubt and the realization of how fucking spineless most people are has influenced my personality and worldview alot.

[Salvor.Hardin]

I'm surprised you weren't attacked for that. Did you receive any threats?

Yeah, but it was high school and no one was really religiously extreme enough to go through with any of the threats.

[Darkmakaimura]

I was bullied relentlessly, every day in high school, so the answer would be a big "no".

[Sohter.Nura]

I used to have a goth look in school, and would wear a leather leash with a chain attached to it. I also had a cool looking hat and would wear suspenders, ties and boots to school.

I don't think I was popular in high-school, but I certainly had my crowd :P I had a couple fights here and there, but I was more like one of those characters from the class than anything else.

I was pretty popular on my last year of high-school, though. Actually left class in protest one day and the entire class followed me lol.

[Ela Hadrun]

Haha no

Provide a reason? I was extremely sheltered, extremely naive, extremely under-socialized, had never watched TRL, was incredibly shy and silent until OMG YOU TALKED TO ME IT GOES UP TO ELEVEN OMG

I hung out with the nerd girls (all-girls catholic school ftr) and drama club, usual misfit groups, and did okay after my first year when I had like 1.8 friends. (The girl next to me in homeroom would sometimes talk to me; a grouchy girl who was too urban for our suburban school sometimes sat at lunch with me and my 1.0 friend who took turns re-narrating plots from X-Men and Babylon 5 at each other.)

Near the end of my senior year I had a lot of "normal" girls saying things like, "omg, you're actually not mean at all!" and stuff. Apparently I was so socially inept that I came across like someone who thought she was better than everyone else, all the while I was cold and alone and mildly suicidal. :(

Damn straight it gets better. Fuck high school. I went to college and made friends with boys AND girls, and I even learned that there were emulators for the SNES so you could play old games they didn't make anymore! AMAZING