Walking into a high school cafeteria some might expect to see the jocks sitting at one table, the cheerleaders at another and the smart kids studying in a corner. But people rarely take the time to pay closer attention to the individuals sitting at these tables. Sitting quietly with the cheerleaders is a girl studying her lines for the school play while the other girls chat noisily with each other about the weekend’s game. Amidst all the ESPN debates, one of the jocks has his nose buried in his AP Chemistry textbook studying. If we move over to the smart kids’ table, we might be surprised to find the future valedictorian sketching a beautiful portrait for art class.

When I look around KHS’ cafeteria, I struggle to find precise, invisible labels pinned on cliques at KHS. Everyone has their own unique story and should not be defined by the clique they associate with.

The movie Mean Girls, main character Cady Heron evolves into a “Plastic” in order to be a member of their clique. She completely changes herself in order to be a part of the rich, “rhymes with witch” club, but few know she’s taking Calculus as a junior and what a great a person she is underneath the makeup and the sass.

Hanna Doane, sophomore, is in band and some might label her as a member of the band clique. But she’s also a cheerleader and a straight A student. She can’t be classified in a stereotype because she’s more than just a cheerleader or a “band kid”.

Nikhil Patel, junior, would commonly be classified as a jock due to his wrestling success. He also participates in choir which contradicts his clique classification as “jock.”

In Mean Girls the Plastics are portrayed as teen royalty who manipulate the students at their school. They are spoiled, conceited and self-obsessed, and I can’t help but wonder if there really are Regina Georges wandering the earth looking for innocent girls to victimize.

Popularity isn’t worshipped at KHS, but I do notice the similarities in fashion taste most students duplicate. There’s always that popular trend setter who some then try to copy. Of course, this doesn’t get to the extreme of girls cutting holes in their tank tops just because Regina George did it first, as illustrated in Mean Girls, but teenagers still tend to copy each others’ looks in order to conform. Uggs, yoga pants and LuLu Lemon are fads that the majority of girls at KHS embrace and frequently obsess over. There’s nothing wrong with liking a particular brand, as long as it’s not an attempt at acceptance from another group.

Even if I don’t see a “mean kids” clique at KHS, there are still people I view as less evil versions of Regina George who are out to bully others. But these students don’t have the kind of support from the student body that Regina had. Being the mean one isn’t admirable to the majority of students here.

There’s nothing wrong with trying to fit in as long as it isn’t based on winning the approval of another group of people. It’s high school; everybody wants to belong somewhere, but cliques aren’t the way to create that. I hope I never encounter a true Mean Girls clique at KHS because those cliques belong in the movies. In order to keep the peace at KHS, I try to stay open to having as many friends as possible and avoid any potential Plastics.