Everyone has read the YA fiction books and seen the cheesy movies about high school. Countless students arrive on their first day expecting to meet their school’s version of Regina George. Naturally, many of the stories and experiences are true. And, of course, many are simply myths.

Sophomore Maggie Baugh joked about the comparison of High School Musical to Clayton High, saying, “Seriously, why isn’t anyone singing?” Though it’s unlikely anyone actually thought high school would have choreographed dance numbers, the surplus of media surrounding high school cliques makes it difficult to gauge if the days are indeed filled with fights and sabotage.

Popular movies such as “The DUFF” depict high school to be a form of competition, where students are separated into groups that not only fight against every other group in the school, but against each other inside the clique. Other examples include Eleanor and Park, or The Beginning of Everything, which describe dramatic adventures, romanticizing the idea of being the “outcast” in a school of cliques. Protagonists of stories set in high school are always this “outcast,” and the story follows them as they are bullied and harassed by the stereotypical “popular kid.” Not to say that this doesn’t happen; it does, and, in some schools, quite frequently. However, movies and books glamorize the cliche, deceiving viewers into believing that a socially war-torn education is one they should expect, that everyone is either stuck-up, popular and mean, or quiet, excluded and, most likely, ‘nerdy.’
These stereotypes do not pose a threat if they are not taken seriously. There are elements that are accurate, elements that are sort of accurate, and elements that are not accurate at all. The point is simply to experience for yourself what is a myth, and what is not.