- August 18, 2009
- 8 Comments
- Delusions of Grandeur, Fa' Real?, Family & Friends, General
The Popular Girl
Oh snap:
I thought I’d go looking around the YouTube for tips on how to be popular. Because… as a grown 36 year-old woman I need to be looking for tips on how to be popular. Right?
And there you have it. A whole other level of ridiculous. Seriously? Since I found nothing, I feel I should speak up… because I have the “popularity” thing nailed *ahem*… here’s my advice:
- Smile often. Make that your default. But be a good tooth brusher. And flosser.
- Ask people about them. I am a person, so I would consider myself an authority on people. “People” really like to talk about themselves. Create opportunities for people to brag about their own greatness. They will LOVE you. (Warning: you may find you are not so big a fan of that person after all. I once met a guy who said, “I really AM a VERY good guitar player.” Um, never ever heard him play, but really – who the heck would want to? I find I just want to make fun of him… If you find YOU are the one having the opportunity to talk about you… I suggest you don’t tell people you are a VERY good guitar player, especially if you are old and no one has ever heard of you. I figure if you are old and a “VERY GOOD guitar player” and no one but your buddy and his buddy has heard of you… it is likely you are just old. And delusional. And have a receding hairline. And maybe rent a room to live in from your boss… And smell of pot. That might help explain the delusion… but I digress…)
- Bathe. Regularly.
- Don’t be a Negative Nelly and don’t speak ill of others. Unless you use an old guy who loves how he plays guitar as an example of how not to be popular.
- Own glitter spray. Use it often, but give your public a break.
- Flattery
- Ummm…
- You can’t please everybody, and if someone doesn’t like you, then poo on them!
You know what I think about popularity – POO! Just be nice. Sincere. Interested. Ask questions. Make eye contact. The point is not to be popular… the point is to show people kindness and add to their lives. Being involved in the lives of others should have very little to do about ourselves. It should be about them and how you/me/we are adding quality to their lives. We don’t have to build a fence for them, I’m just talking about the person if front of you in line. A soft smile and a few kind words can go further than one might imagine.
“I got to do what I’m going to do for me” – I HATE that. We are always watching our for ourselves… I argue that if our focus was more external rather than internal, “popularity” wouldn’t be an issue. I argue for “otherness”.
Excuse me. I need to go apply a face mask and brush each section of my hair 100 times. And floss. I need to be pretty so people will like me.
Let’s end on this note. I found the following video at CHEERUPNATION. I suggest you add CHEERUPNATION to your RSS feed.
Untitled from mccabe russell on Vimeo.
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8 Responses to “The Popular Girl”
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Very good advice.
And I loved that clip from CheerupNation! Certainly made me smile!!
p.s. I brush often and floss, every day.
Aren’t you nice!
I think I know that old, balding wannabe guitar player. Everyone’s got one in their life.
In college I got to be very popular on my dorm floor by carrying around a bag of junk food to everyone. I didn’t exactly come out and plead, “Be my friend?” but the shameless offerings of Ding Dongs and Fritos said it for me.
It worked!
Who better to teach me to be popular than YOU.
Oh, and I don’t have glitter spray — but I have roll-on glitter.
Does that count? I hope so. I love glitter.
And that video ROCKS.
You said poo – hahaha
I find glitter lotion exceptionally Fabulous. And my favorite trick is the asking lots of questions about the person – cuz I agree – what people most wanna do is talk about themselves, and there is just not enough opportunity to talk about oneself – unless of course you are paying someone to listen!!!
Aww! Thanks so much for linking Cheerupnation! I don’t think I had heard of them, but they’ve already made my day (and now I’m subscribed to them, too!). The pillow fight was just perfect. Our first baby is just under 3 months old, and my husband can’t wait until he can really “play” with her like in that video.
Jenny, you’re all kinds of awesome. Loved you from Day 1. Finally, I’m coming around to embrace my fun side like you, my silly side, and it’s paying off hugely.
And I agree with the letting other people talk about themselves. They’re very few “listeners” left. Everyone has an agenda.
Great post, Jenny. I really, really love it.
You are such a very wise person.
Oh, and you’re pretty.
That kind of flattery?
Seriously – you are so right on so many levels
This post should be required reading for all teenagers (and some adults I know). Thank you for sharing your thoughts and thank you so much for introducing me to Cheerupnation. I am new to the blogging world and you both are at the top of my blog bookmark list!