the jungle

Teenagers today can act as if they were wild animals. Similar to the jungles in Africa, the lunchroom resembles a watering hole in which all gather to eat and drink. You begin to see different "herds" of people gather together at this watering hole. At our school where you sit in the lunchroom is determined by the herd you belong. These herds are determined by where you stand based on the social standards of approval that all of us set for each other. The social standards are set much like a social food chain in which predators feed off their prey and prey struggle to survive. Since we are not wild animals, we should not continue to act as if we are wild animals. Instead, we should act as the human beings we are, and accept and treat other people as the human beings that they truly are. (Mean Girls)


In Nature, it is a standard that all ducks are yellow, their feet must be webbed, and they must quack. Similarly, all of us have set standards for each other that determine what is "cool" and uncool. These standards include a persons athletic ability, their looks, and the activities that they engage in. Sports at Northeast Academy have always been very important. These public sporting events are watched by hundreds of spectators. If you prove yourself talented in the two primary sports, football and basketball, in effect you are deemed "cool". If you do not fit into this standard you may also prove yourself by the activities you publicly engage. These activities include partying, and being seen at the right place, doing the right activities. These activities include the consumption of alcoholic beverages, the use of tobacco products, and sexual promiscuity. You are only deemed "cool" by participating in these activities because of your willingness to conform to these standards of cool. These standards not only control our actions but also how we look. The standards that all of us have set for each other tells us that we must be a certain size and wear a certain brand. Since we all shop at the same stores, we all have the same clothes in different colors. Because of these standards, we are all clones of each other. Our standards leave no room for individuality. Instead of conforming and becoming a plain yellow duck, we should embrace our individuality and become a out of the ordinary pink duck.


Since many people do not meet up to all of these standards, they find themselves at the bottom of the social food chain. In the wild, there is always one group of seemingly insignificant animals that stay at the bottom of the food chain. These animals include minnows, zebras, and at our school, seventh graders. In the seventh grade, everyone is awkward and no one has had a chance to prove themselves as "cool". Until they prove themselves, they remain insignificant. At our school seventh graders are expected to show respect to older class men. Seventh grade is the year where you "pay your dues". They are forced to do the things that no one wants to do. These things include cleaning the gym, getting last choice in lockers, and going to break and lunch last. When I was a seventh grader, during break I was forced to sit on the red metal bar which directs the line because there was no where to sit. The seventh grade vital because this is your one chance to establish yourself as "cool" and publicly prove that you are "cool". If you do not establish yourself as "cool" in this vital year, you are immediately labeled as "weird" for your entire High School career. Unfortunately, once you are labeled "weird" there is no vertical mobility, you are stuck at the bottom of the food chain.


At the top of this food chain, there remains the lions which at our school are the seniors, and jocks. In the wild, seniors and jocks are very similar to lions. They are treated like royalty, but they also demand respect, and feed off of smaller animals. Seniors are allowed special privileges. These privileges include leaving school early, getting the the first choice in lockers, getting the best parking spots, and going to lunch before everyone else. Although jocks do not get special privileges, everyone is expected to show respect to them. Like lions, those who are at the top of the food chain often lash out against those who are at the bottom of the food chain. As a lion pounces on a unsuspecting victim, seniors and jocks pounce on vulnerable seventh graders. Since seniors and jocks are insecure about themselves they must lash out against others to draw attention away from their own insecurity. Also, to remain "cool", you must be funny. When they run out of jokes, they pick the easiest target and make fun of them. All of a sudden, they are the coolest kid in the class, because they made the entire class laugh by hurting someone's feelings. They feel that if they continue to make people laugh, then they will remain on top of the food chain. In all reality, people who seem to have it all together at the top of the food chain, are just as insecure as those on the bottom of the food chain. They are mere zebras disguised as a powerful lions.


We need to all grow up and see that we are not wild animals. We are all human beings, and it is time that we start treating each other like it. No more standards, no more food chains. The standards have made life miserable for both the predator and the prey. If we would learn to accept people for who they are, instead of where they stand on the food chain, maybe we could turn our "watering hole" back into a civilized lunchroom.

(orginal idea from the movie staring Lindsey Lohan, Mean Girls)