10-year study says a lot of the kids who were cool at 13 'didn't turn out OK'

NachoBusiness · 03-08-2015 10:43AM

Or maybe Vernon was right..

You think he's "bitchin," is that it?
Let me tell you something.
Look at him - he's a bum.
You want to see something funny?
You go visit John Bender in five years.
You'll see how goddamned funny he is.

03-08-2015 09:40PM

Sorry if this has been posted before, but it's an interesting glimpse of what can happen when two classmates' lives diverge utterly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SImv_FmuhTs

efb · 03-08-2015 09:42PM

Think the author of that article was finding the answers he was looking for.

When the Sun Hits · 03-08-2015 09:50PM

The "cool" kids from my childhood are all doing pretty well now. Being cool at a young age has a lot to do with confidence and social skills, they're two traits that can really help a person go far.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k · 03-08-2015 10:16PM

I was a really quiet kid, kept to myself, stayed within my group and generally flew under the radar. Changed a lot over the years, I'm not "cool" now, but I'm really confident in myself, I'm always well turned out, I have a great group of friends and it's more than I can say for the "cool" kids in my 2nd year class.

The coolest is now married to a man who's much older than her and cheats on her constantly.
One of the girls who bullied me looks like bugs bunny and has a **** part time job and can't keep a boyfriend
The other one that bullied me did really well for herself but she's ugly af and that pleases me greatly.
And the 3rd bully is now so ashamed she would cross the street if she met me.

I take a lot of pleasure in being an absolute cow to people from school who were horrible to me but now think I'm good enough/cool enough to talk to.
"Sorry who are you?" And "**** off" usually is enough to get them to toddle on

Eugene Norman · 03-08-2015 10:27PM

One eyed Jack wrote: »

It took them ten years to verify what the rest of the world has known for centuries?

In other news - water is wet.

The point of the survey was to prove or disprove what "everybody has known for decades". Sometimes what everybody knows is wrong.

Cold War Kid · 03-08-2015 10:27PM

Whenever the jeering at people's looks by the apparently anti-bullying folks start in these threads, the irony is off the scale. Whatever about pointing out terrible behaviour, commenting on something people have no control over - really?

qo2cj1dsne8y4k · 03-08-2015 10:38PM

Cold War Kid wrote: »

Whenever the jeering at people's looks by the apparently anti-bullying folks start in these threads, the irony is off the scale. Whatever about pointing out terrible behaviour, commenting on something people have no control over - really?

Well, considering it's the main reason they made so many peoples school life an out and out misery based on looks, I for one am delighted when they're now the wretched looking bags of sh1te. I'm not above taking pleasure in seeing someone's personality show on their face. Wicked on the inside was bound to be wicked on the outside eventually

Fox_In_Socks · 03-08-2015 10:41PM

LexieOnRale wrote: »

Wicked on the inside was bound to be wicked on the outside eventually

But it's not, is it? There are plenty of charmers, good looking people and intellectuals (sometimes all three) who will always be Teflonic.

Mr Rhode Island Red · 03-08-2015 10:44PM

Karma
"it will all turn out fine in the end"
"every dog has his day"

Above are all examples of BS that people, including myself, tell themselves to make themselves feel better.

Eugene Norman · 03-08-2015 10:44PM

When the Sun Hits wrote: »

The "cool" kids from my childhood are all doing pretty well now. Being cool at a young age has a lot to do with confidence and social skills, they're two traits that can really help a person go far.

Yeh. Here's a survey that says the opposite.

Rebellious kids do better than rule following kids in later life.

http://qz.com/460267/rebellious-kids-grow-up-to-out-earn-rule-followers/

qo2cj1dsne8y4k · 03-08-2015 10:46PM

Fox_In_Socks wrote: »

But it's not, is it? There are plenty of charmers, good looking people and intellectuals (sometimes all three) who will always be Teflonic.

Bit off topic but I honestly believe really pretty kids/teens end up being average looking adults, and average/odd looking teens generally grow into themselves and look much better as adults. Don't think anyone's ever pretty their whole life

conorh91 · 03-08-2015 10:52PM

Eugene Norman wrote: »

Rebellious kids do better than rule following kids in later life.

It is probably a minority of schools were the "rebellious" kids are the coolest.

In most schools, the coolest kids are handsome and good at games… not particularly antagonistic to teachers or rules. With very few exceptions, the rebels weren't particularly cool in my school, and probably most schools.

Maybe in some inner-city school it might be cool to be a badass, but I think that's the exception.

Eugene Norman · 03-08-2015 10:53PM

When the Sun Hits wrote: »

I don't see how that says the opposite to what I stated. I never mentioned anything about rule breaking.

Says the opposite of the OP's survey.

Eugene Norman · 03-08-2015 10:56PM

conorh91 wrote: »

It is probably a minority of schools were the "rebellious" kids are the coolest.

In most schools, the coolest kids are handsome and good at games… not particularly antagonistic to teachers or rules. With very few exceptions, the rebels weren't particularly cool in my school, and probably most schools.

Maybe in some inner-city school it might be cool to be a badass, but I think that's the exception.

Yes we may have different experiences. My school had PE but no real commitment to playing other schools in anything but the very uncool GAA, the cool kids were rebels.

Drexel · 03-08-2015 10:56PM

I don't care about being cool......

That makes me cool, right?

Eugene Norman · 03-08-2015 10:58PM

LexieOnRale wrote: »

Bit off topic but I honestly believe really pretty kids/teens end up being average looking adults, and average/odd looking teens generally grow into themselves and look much better as adults. Don't think anyone's ever pretty their whole life

Can happen. Spot the dork kid from the wonder years.

http://www.eonline.com/eol_images/Entire_Site/2014429/rs_634x1024-140529070637-634-Wonder-Years-Today-JR1-52914.jpg

Edit:

Better example f you don't know the guy

https://rickeyorg-rickeyllc.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/The-Wonder-Years-Reunion-Josh-Saviano.jpg

That said they all aged well. Including the good looking kids.

Fox_In_Socks · 03-08-2015 10:58PM

Eugene Norman wrote: »

Can happen. Spot the dork kid from the wonder years.

http://www.eonline.com/eol_images/Entire_Site/2014429/rs_634x1024-140529070637-634-Wonder-Years-Today-JR1-52914.jpg

Transgendered?

When the Sun Hits · 03-08-2015 11:01PM

I went to two different schools. Students who rebelled against teachers were usually considered cool. They were generally confident, gregarious individuals with a lot of friends. They may or may not have been good at sports/attractive, but it certainly helped.

Students who were rebellious in a "dyed hair and dark clothes" sort of way were not considered cool.

BlaasForRafa · 03-08-2015 11:25PM

I think the OP is talking about this type of bloke, Wooderson from Dazed and Confused

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo4kDrWBa6c

ArtSmart · 03-08-2015 11:43PM

10 year-olds are not reliable researchers.

NachoBusiness · 04-08-2015 03:09AM

LexieOnRale wrote: »

Don't think anyone's ever pretty their whole life

LexieOnRale wrote: »

Wicked on the inside was bound to be wicked on the outside eventually

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28NnWphc8IY

fancy pigeon · 04-08-2015 03:12AM

They were little **** then, now they're really big ****!

04-08-2015 03:35AM

Yurt! wrote: »

Came across recently one of the 'cool kids' when I was in school, who played rugby, had a revolving door of 'cool girl' girlfriends in school and was the class funnyman - but also used his status to be a bit of a d*ck and made sure weaker kids knew where they stood in the pecking order.

I stopped into a pub of an afternoon midweek recently to break a note for change for the bus, and spotted him at the bar staring into his pint with the eyes hanging out of his head. Yep, turned into a fat alcoholic. I'm not celebrating his fate or anything but there's probably truth in this study. A lot of the 'cool kids' and big men didn't go get themselves educated and instead wanted to stay hometown heroes in their one horse town.

The thing about guys like that is that they get it into their heads at age 15/16 that they are somehow "big men", powerful alpha males dominant over other kids that age.

Problem is that nothing happens in the intervening years to show them this is not the case. They reach the age of 18/19/20 and enter the world of actual "big men" aged 40/45 who've learned the hard way about the real world and taken the knocks. But these kids continue to act like tits and try to behave the same way as they did in school around grown adults with very little patience for this.

Result? The reality of life hits them in the face like a fcukin' train wreck, and like the guy in your story the self appointed cool kids end up self medicating losers, and permanently unhappy.

04-08-2015 03:54AM

or, yknow, not

depending on why you were or weren't popular in school and how sustainable/salvageable that defining trait or set of traits turned out to be, there's still about a million different things that are gonna impact upon your life between debs night and your clogs popping and no reliable formula to predict and outcomes for sure.

bitterness against 'cool kids' is a bit sad tho.

equating 'cool kids' to 'bullies' is a weird reaction to me. ime the bullies generally weren't especially popular themselves and usually headed on a pretty fast track to nowhere. most of the cool kids had looks, talent, money or confidence (or any combination of the above) and did predictably well.

RedemptionZ · 04-08-2015 04:57AM

The influence of American movies is all too evident here. In most schools the coolest people are the best looking, charismatic and best at sports, usually a combo of all three to varying degrees. They're not all evil. They're actually usually very likeable. The reason they're popular is because people like them, I mean how can you be popular if nobody likes you? American cinema and television has created this myth that the quarter back and his crew dominate the school and don't acknowledge anyone but themselves or the cheerleaders and vice versa. We all know that's not true. The majority of cool kids do go on to be successful. Of course success is subjective, and schools on the lower end of socioeconomic ladder tend to be less cliquey because school just isn't seen as integral to many, so the 'cool kids' probably don't last the 6 years.

The Corinthian · 04-08-2015 06:58AM

efb wrote: »

Think the author of that article was finding the answers he was looking for.

All research of this nature is about finding the answers one is looking for, as they are all based upon proving or disproving a hypothesis.

zl1whqvjs75cdy · 04-08-2015 07:38AM

Whenever I read these types of threads I always feel like I was dead lucky in school. I was not sporty (total nerd actually) but I still got on really well with the "cool" kids. No one in my year was really bullied and there was only one or two class A dickheads. Most of the cool kids got on fine for themselves and I genuinely wish them well, they are (or at least were) nice people.

jamesbere · 04-08-2015 08:05AM

donkeyoaty0099 wrote: »

Whenever I read these types of threads I always feel like I was dead lucky in school. I was not sporty (total nerd actually) but I still got on really well with the "cool" kids. No one in my year was really bullied and there was only one or two class A dickheads. Most of the cool kids got on fine for themselves and I genuinely wish them well, they are (or at least were) nice people.

Same here, Evereyone I went to school with was fine. Of course everyone one had their own groups but nearly everyone got on.

yes there · 04-08-2015 08:37AM

Know what's funny. The majority on here think your actions when you are a kid/teenager somehow affects where you want to be in life in future.

What's even worse is how most think they can judge a person's progress based on their own egocentric idea of success.

10-year study says a lot of the kids who were cool at 13 'didn't turn out OK'

Comments