From personal experience, I know that even when you get older and older, you’ll often remember the faces and names of the most popular people in your middle and high school. Maybe even kindergarten.
As absurd as it is, those people had so much control over how you saw yourself in the social hierarchy for so long that the perspective gained through age does nothing to end that trauma.
So folks were really ready with the stories when Redditot u/jelleturtle asked, “What made the popular guy/girl lose their popularity?”
There seem to be some running themes in the stories below, like don’t make fun of kids with learning disabilities or drive drunk, both good lessons. They do all show what a thin line there is between popularity and social ostracism. Be kind now, even if no one remembers you later.
1.
A popular boy cried in class during a discussion about a recent tragedy because someone that was close to him died in said tragedy. He got relentlesly bullied for the short time afterward that he was at that school. He was a good kid that didn’t deserve any of that.
I really hate middle school kids sometimes. —Absolutephycopath
2.
She started a fight with another popular girl over something petty. The other popular girl, unbeknownst to us all, practiced a martial art and delivered with one hand the most beautiful, graceful punch that I have ever had the pleasure of seeing whilst pulling out a chunk of hair with the other.
The other girl was suspended and skyrocketed higher than ever while the popular girl who started the fight became little more than a laughing stock with a temporary bald spot. —PerpetuallyVerdant
3.
Popular girl was driving drunk on the way to school. And caused a pretty bad accident involving 3 other cars. She spilled liquor on herself and slammed on her brakes in a line of cars.(Her car managed not to have a scratch). She swaps seats with her passenger in front of everyone, before cops arrive.
A few minutes later we realize she has disappeared. She had slipped into another car that had stopped to see if everyone was okay. Several people ended up getting tickets and her passenger ended up getting a dui. She was unpopular until graduation. —Upbeat_Sir_6220
4.
Kid made a video for a school project, which he played in front of the class….project video ended and cut to him beating his meat.
He was a freshman, he spent the remainder of HS known only as “ the cameraman ” —bigby424
5.
Way back when I was in school a girl who was quite popular decided she could make fun of another kids Down syndrome sibling in front of her friends.
Well the popular kids in my school weren’t jerks so they didn’t laugh and literally turned their backs on her. She was a loner for the rest of the year and went goth the next then moved. It wasn’t funny at the time nor is is funny now. —99probz84
6.
We had two or three over the 4 years get pregnant. They no longer went to all the parties with a kid to look after. —MTAlphawolf
7.
This one “popular” girl in HS got so drunk at a party that she just started sh—tting herself everywhere. Some friends drove her home and she did it again in the back seat. Not easily forgotten.
But it was one of those things no one would say anything about it’s just that the entire school knew by Monday afternoon. —CashingOutInShinjuku
8.
I went to the same school as the kids of the prime minister of my country at the time. I didn’t know the daughter too well but apparently she went from being popular to being bullied out of the school when her dad lost the election. It was pretty sad that people starting hating on her for something she had no control over. —HockeyBoyz3
9.
Word got out that this kid stole from his grandparents for drug money —Linzer333
10.
Becoming the small fish at University. —CraftingQuest
11.
He got pantsed in front of everyone and was going commando. In sixth grade that was a huge f–king deal apparently lol I would say I feel sorry for him, but he was a colossal c–t to me. Suck it, Matt —EgregiousPhillbin