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In school, the majority of us knew popular students. And being popular does not automatically translate to being mean. Yes, some popular kids might be mean, but they can also be quite lovely. Also, some of these kids might be well-known because of how kind and enjoyable they are, making everyone want to be in their social circle. Others may be quite wealthy, which entails always owning expensive items, throwing extravagant parties, and sharing a lot of these things with their pals. And let's face it, kids and teens sometimes think these are the most important things in the world.
But it's always fascinating to see how these popular kids' lives really worked out. Do they have their feet on the ground or do they continue to do nothing while possessing everything? Or perhaps they were blessed by life, worked hard, and are now leading happy lives? A Reddit user asked online people to discuss their experiences with these popular students from their school. Let's just say that the stories range from sad to heartwarming.
More info: Reddit
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#1
One of my best friends was from the wrong side of the tracks, poor, had a mullet and wore Metallica shirts way before they broke into mainstream.
He was extremely popular because he was crazy smart, very talented and driven. Everyone wanted to be his friend and he was very open about being nice to everyone.
Many many parents were like “don’t hang out with that John Smith boy, he’s on [substances] and a bad influence”
(He absolutely was not, it was the Satanic scare of the late 80s and 90s and he liked Metal Music)
He worked his as off all his life and is now pretty damn wealthy with a house, wife and kids in California.
When we chat it up on the phone he is the exact same person I grew up with. Crazy funny and extremely kind.
Shelli Aderman 1 year ago
Except Eddie was a total stoner and was repeating a year of school… 😉
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Ramirez rachael 1 year ago
I just looked up one of my bullies from middle school. He was kind of an a$$ turns out he has a wife and kids and turned his life around. I sure thought that he would have ended up in jail like his friends. Sometimes people surprise you.
Judi Fisher 1 year ago
This is proof that what might seem to be by appearance can be very deceiving. Just call it what it is ... judgemental
Nykky 1 year ago
So glad he didn't get taken by that whole b******t time. They should be worried now as more people than ever are leaving their cult. We are still spiritual! We just don't give a s**t about being in a religion that has backwards thinking and is super hypocritical and contradictive in their book. I really wish we had a Satanic Temple here in AZ. I would join so fast. You should look them up! They're all about being the best you and caring for others, not half the population being slaves to the other half and a different skin color being holier than thou.
RELATED:
#2
The most popular class clown who drove teachers mad with his antics (to the greatesr enjoyment of the rest of us, seriously, this guy was legendary) went on to become a teacher.
Lil Miss Hobbit 2 years ago
My dad was one of the worst students. Became a teacher because he understood what it felt like to be a bratty little kid with dyslexia cooped up at school every day. His students love him.
David 1 year ago
Well I mean he knows all the tricks. When I was in HS, my school hired a former student as a teacher who had graduated from there 6 years prior. This guy was a legend for all the pranks he had pulled at his time there (many of the teachers at first did not react so well to him being a colleague of theirs after what he pulled in their classes). He right away told the kids he knew all the tricks, and nothing they could ever do would top him, or get past him, so they better behave. Most kids behaved, and he was able to catch every prank and trouble incident before they happened, because he knew what to look for.
Myra Alkins 1 year ago
I went to school with. Girl like that. She called teachers by their first names and was a disruptive student. She later became a school principal.
Not-a-Clue (she/her) 1 year ago
And probably a really great teacher for all his experience as a student
#3
Most popular kid in our school was a guy named Josh. Insanely outgoing and friendly, he could befriend anyone he talked to within five seconds, and always did. Active athlete, was on the football team. Straight A student. Very devout church-goer. I didn't meet him until later in high school, where he was part of a Dungeons and Dragons game I joined. Always put on a great time role playing. While we didn't get close, we had a couple extraordinarily memorable times during our senior year of high school, very fun and meaningful times that stood out strongly to me then during a s****y part of my life and are still remembered fondly by me twenty years later. Josh was going places, and he'd make a difference somewhere.
We lost touch after high school. Three years later he fell asleep behind the wheel of his truck and hit a tree. Died on impact. Found out through another friend who'd kept up with him, and we went to his funeral. I'd never seen a church so packed full of people for something like this, hundreds and hundreds of people. From our school, from his church, from all over life, the church was legitimately full.
To this day, one of my few true lifelong regrets is letting my anxiety get the better of me when Josh's pastor asked people to come up to the mic and say something about Josh. I should've told everyone of our ludicrous all-nighter digging his truck out of the mud in a forest he'd gone mudding in after an evening school performance where we were all still in khakis and polos, finishing at three AM and somehow ending our bedraggled a**es at IHOP after getting it out. I should've told everyone how we found out our DnD GM was moving away on short notice, and we high-tailed it to his place after school and literally ran out of gas in that f*****g truck getting there, then flooded the engine refilling it from a Jerry can, stuck with our GM who didn't want anyone coming to say goodbye and ending up late in the evening laying in that truck bed talking about science and philosophy and religion, three teenage dudes waiting for that goddamn f*****g truck to get to a drivable condition so we could say goodbye to our friend properly before he disappeared from our lives. I'm nearing forty, and I still regret not saying how great of a guy he was to a short, scrawny, long-haired metalhead weirdo like I was in high school. Because he was. He was going to make a difference. I suppose, given all the people at his funeral, he still did.
Kathleen Reed 1 year ago
This made me cry! Your eulogy was that beautiful! Made perpetual light shine on Josh. ♥️
Blyss Blyssylb 1 year ago
He did! He made a Ginormous difference in the lives of those your friend came into contact with and it seems he touched the lives of those he hadn't met too. When there's a line of cars going down the street because they're all waiting for a parking spot to open up... yeah, he's still making a difference. Great eulogy btw!
Katie Lutesinger 1 year ago
When a coworker of mine died in a sudden horrible accident we all went to her funeral (work even provided a shuttle bus). She was a lovely person, and the service was absolutely packed. After the speeches and such were over, I went to talk to her bereaved husband to offer my condolences. I waved toward the huge room full of mourners and said "look how many people came. A funeral with this many people there to say goodbye is the sign of a life well-lived."
Paula Schwinn 1 year ago
Yes, you said it now. Instead of a room full of people who already knew this amazing person, you said it to countless strangers who got to learn for the first time what an incredible person Josh was. I hope that helps... thank you for telling us about Josh.
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Kat 1 year ago
Literally in tears right now. I knew a kid like this in high school, everyone loved him. Whenever he saw me in the halls he always gave me the brightest smile and a loving hug even tho we were never more than casual acquaintances. Often times I thought that I'd love to get to know him better, but he was always surrounded by friends and I told myself he didn't have time for me. A couple years after we graduated he took his own life. I cannot tell you how much I regret not taking the time to offer him my friendship. I still think about him.
#4
A girl friend of mine that I knew since kindergarten was appointed a California State Supreme Court Judge.
#5
He was our QB in highschool. Liked by everyone, handsome, did good in school, and was a humble person totally aware of his situation. Got married to a girl we went to school with, got a local job in a big local Industry, had a kid with her. I saw him at the gas station last time I was in town. He seems like he's doing well.
#6
My favorite is that the star wrestler, who was a bully, had a one night stand with the star cheerleader years later. It resulted in a pregnancy and she now complains on Facebook that he is a deadbeat dad.
BreAnn East 1 year ago
Not shocking behaviour. Certain types of people play out their selfishness on their children.
Susan Teter 1 year ago (edited)
CALE SANDERSON. His ENTIRE wrestling career from day one...UNDEFEATED. Wrestled junior, senior high, wrestled 4 years for Iowa State University...UNDEFEATED. The Olympics...Gold medal winner. SIMPLY THE BEST
Nykky 1 year ago
Ya never know someone until they're put in a situation where they gotta make tough choices and do difficult things. Poor lass, but it takes two to do the devil's tango (with permission)
Auntie Panda 1 year ago
Now is when she steps up and shows her child how a real mamma gets it done.
Load More Replies... #7
Small town.
**There are always exceptions**, but most kids who were 'popular' were friendly, outgoing, well dressed, and emotionally stable. That happened because they came from families with more money and better educated parents.
Those parents often provided better mentoring, ensured they went to college, and as a result the kids ended up professionals who did reasonably well for themselves.
Anna Chandler 1 year ago
Parents with money and more education who actually love and support their kids. You missed the key factor in raising well adjusted humans. I know poor people who raised well adjusted humans on welfare. Money helps, but love and support are primary.
Thomas Hunt, Jr. 2 years ago
Small town here as well. The popular kids were all bullies. If you weren't part of their clique you were the outcast....and then they made it their life's mission to make sure the bullied one (me, my entire childhood) was a living hell. Sure, the went to college...then they moved away and haven't been in contact with their families in several years. Now I get apologetic parents tracking me down 25 years later and asking where they went wrong. Half tempted to lay into them.
Kevin J. Henning 1 year ago
In the small town I was forced to endure the popular kids were only interested in other popular kids. Anyone lower on the totem pole was garbage to them.
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AnkleByter 1 year ago (edited)
My small home town is pretty much the opposite. The kids of families who were more well off, financially or even otherwise (ie, community/school participation/involvement from their parents) are mostly one giant mess right now. A massive amount of drug use/crime and general asshatery as teens and adults. Most of them have screwed up their lives in countless ways. Absolutely none of them are really all that successful, although some have made strides to improve that despite not really making any headway yet (they might eventually, I suppose). Their families are a wreck, some of them have kids in schools who ARE the school bullies, or kids that simply don't care about others/school in general. Honestly, it was the rest of us who maybe had a bit less than them, that have all flourished in countless ways. Those kids and those families just created even more of themselves and have never made much of an effort to do better, or be better. But then again, my hometown was very, very small, we didn't even have 40 kids in any one grade.
Tonya York 1 year ago
Not always. Some tried to sail through life, contributing nothing but expecting everything. I've seen many of the star quarterbacks, cheerleaders and beauty queens fail because they think life is like high school. They end up pumping gas for the hard working, humble people who grow and advance. There's many a CEO whose family once was on food stamps.
Nykky 1 year ago
Meanwhile, all the people that seriously need help rarely get it cuz they don't have the munz. Great for the people that got to the point where they can afford everything, most totally deserve it! But it's bs that so many people are left behind mostly due to greedy a******s in gubmint.
Brent Echols 1 year ago
*people who vote against their own interests Fixed it for you
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#8
Don't know, Don't care.
Graduated in 1998, left for the Navy and never went back
Don't know what happened to any of them
Thomas Hunt, Jr. 2 years ago
I tried for the navy. Scored an 88 on my ASVAB. Thanks to a leg injury (fell in a gasoline fire at 16) and a hormone disorder, I was rejected....even my waiver request was shot down....recruiter suggested I try the other branches and they all rejected me. Needless to say, I was pi$$ed as hell. This was back in 97, a year after HS.
Laura Deckers 1 year ago
Are Marines considered Navy? The Marines Operate as a Part of the Department of the Navy. The Marine Corps is the only branch that is independent but serves as part of another branch.
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Joe Average 1 year ago
SAME! And never went back to any of the reunions b/c they have been organized by the same cliquish people who were problems in HS. The first big one had an everyone event at a park and a "VIP" event with a fancy $100 dinner. Nope, not going.
Michael Largey 1 year ago
I graduated from high school more than fifty years ago and have never kept in contact with any of the people in my graduating class. But I am pleased to note that they are dying the right order. The racist homophobic rich snob bully went first. Then the doctor turned internet child predator, etc.
Nykky 1 year ago
Heeeeeey! This is like me! Sorta. I just went radio silent cuz I didn't care. But the feeling was mutual. Only one I cared about was abused by his parents (which he specifically told me not to call or do anything so I figured he had it), then he got into a major car crash and died. I wish I had known. I would have attended his funeral.
Gary Geracci 1 year ago
Same with me.Did My Military time and came home to a totally changed neighborhood. best kid in class went on to become a teacher in woodworking and furniture making. Lived in Kentucky the last i knew.
Dawnieangel76 1 year ago
I spent 10 grand & too many years in therapy trying to forget high school. I don't give a damn about any of them.
#9
Lawyer.
Doctor.
Current NBC Anchor in Lubbock.
Track and Field Coach for high school.
Physical therapist.
Engineer.
Prison for involuntary vehicular manslaughter and DUI.
two-sided llama 1 year ago
and they killed us in the second by *reads notes* involuntary vehicular manslaughter
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Nykky 1 year ago
Who else thinks that DUIs should be considered murder? I do. You knew you were going to drink. You knew you were going to drive after. We all know how bad it is. We all know what may happen. It's not a surprise, it's not needed. You are fully in charge of your actions at that point. I think it should be murder in the 2nd degree.
Dumpster Fire 1 year ago
Well that was a fun list to read. I like how you staged it out. Good delivery.
#10
The kids who were popular in my school came from rich families, most of them simply went to rich schools and got jobs that didn't really involve working.
Now the cycle continues.
Hugh Cookson 2 years ago
Ah, this sums up the majority of the current British government ... Oh, and the US government, and the Argentinian government ....... etc etc ad infinitum ....
David 1 year ago
Argentina just got a shakeup to that. The old Spano-Germanic Catholic elites lost a lot of power with Milie who wants to break their hold on politics, force them to diversify the judiciary, the BAR, etc. I mean sure hes a radical capitalist and anti-leftist, but he is doing more for diversity than anyone before him and breaking an old corrupt system
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Danish Susanne 1 year ago
When I hear someone talking about jobs that don't involve working, it makes me angry. I have worked in offices most of my working years, and hear it often from my mother. Just because it is a different kind of job and you don't get dirty hands, doesn't mean that it is not working.
J 1 year ago
I don’t agree. I grew up in what was almost 100% lower to upper middlle class town with a handful on each of the ends. Screwing around in school wasn’t an option and you were expected to jump to the next level be it college, trade schools, or the military and "success" has varied but pretty much been achieved
Pamela Holleman 1 year ago
Im cofused So in "your school", yet you phrase this like you were not in the "Rich School" with them... So 3 options Not in your school, You are one of the "got a job but not working" group Or they went to pricey colleges?
#11
They all became Instagram influencers and started selling detox tea
#12
They're doing fine. Contrary to what Reddit would have you believe, most of the popular kids in schools weren't bullies in my experience. They were kids who for the most part were nice, had a stable home life, and maybe happened to be fairly athletic
Happy Homemaker 1 year ago
Same here. The jocks in my high school stood outside my house in front of my friend’s parents car and laughed at me for crying because EMT’s were working on my aunt who just died. She was like a mother to me and I had walked in on them doing CPR on her. She’d had an aneurysm. I was 13.
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Sonja 1 year ago (edited)
The problem is that the victims of bullies are the minority in every school. Bullies do not herd in a small group and harass bigger groups, they herd in huge groups and single out individuals while the majority of people looks away. And they are of course nice people towards everyone else. So just because you think they are nice, doesn't mean that there's no one whose life they turn into a nightmare. And yes, they do fine. While their victims struggle all their life with the fallout of their actions. This is also why so often bullying is rarely ever taken seriously or getting stopped. You have that brilliant popular kid on one hand who's always polite to the teachers and liked by everyone and the lonely outsider, often neurodivergent or at least the typical oddball that struggles to fit in and often acts out as a result of the constant bullying. You can guess whom the teachers like more and will believe.
Papa 1 year ago
That wasn't my experience. When I was bullied it was by individuals.
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Upstaged75 1 year ago
You forgot the most important factor - they were all conventionally attractive. Anyone who doesn't fit that aesthetic immediately becomes a target for bullying.
Krys Kohlrus 1 year ago
Yes and contrary to what OP would have us believe real life doesn't follow that rule and 9/10 popular&/or rich kids are generally full of themselves. Seriously whenever people say "there just weren't that many bullies" when they were in school: You are telling everyone that A: of course you weren't their target unless you were one of the un-popular/invisible kids or B: you were a bully
Michael Danhauer 1 year ago
Please remember people that subjective personal experiences do not define the objective whole... Your social class may help determine it but I knew plenty of popular poor kids
Tonya York 1 year ago
My father committed suicide when I was 17 years old. After weeks off of school head cheerleader asked me if I was going to kill myself too since it ran in families.
J 1 year ago
Was it done as a honest but stupid question or as a mean girl comment?
Load More Replies... #13
I’m old. Graduated from high school in 1970. My classmate rundown: One of the most popular ones came up with the name “windows” while a VP at Microsoft. One became a state governor and a U.S. Senator. Left politics in disgrace over racist comments. One is a hot shot on Wall Street. One of the less popular ones headed up a major record label for awhile. One was once mayor of a coastal town. Another less popular one was the victim of a serial killer. Another thoroughly unpopular one faked his death to get out of some financial fraud. Most, popular and unpopular, faded into obscurity as most of us do. Heard about a death just this week. Time marches on.
#14
They are still as clicky as they were in high school almost 20 years later. There was a whole drama around the reunion (which I wasn’t going to), the valedictorian planned a reunion, and one of the “popular kids” in planned a separate one. People keep adding me to to the fb page and I keep denying myself entry. Not interested in any of them 😂😂
M O'Connell 2 years ago
I went to my 10-year reunion and decided there was a 0% chance of me ever attending another. I was contacted a couple of times about attending the 15-year, but I didn't even acknowledge the calls/emails. I don't need those people in my lives.
Javelina Poppers 1 year ago
Went to my 50th and they're still the same old A-holes only now they're wrinkly old A-holes.
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Niels Boehm 1 year ago
Yeah, thank you. It took me ages to understand what they meant with clicky. Like, did they make clicking sounds? 😅
Load More Replies... Happy Homemaker 1 year ago
I didn’t go to my graduation, my prom, my senior ball and I definitely didn’t go to any of my reunions. I didn’t want to meet up with any of the jerks I went to school with. They were hell going to school and they were hell seeing around town. I saw no need to subject myself to more abuse by any of them.
Charles McChristy 1 year ago
Most of them are exactly the same. No thank you.
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Angie Falzarano 1 year ago
Went to a joint 30 yr reunion/homecoming. It was for 77, 78 and 79 graduates (me 79 and bff 78). When I walked in the door of the bat before the game (bff was parking the car) loud comments were made as soon as they saw me (yes 30 yrs and still cliquey. But it stopped when a ton of guys even married ones came over and wanted to talk to me (some flirting). Most of those guys didn't even know who I was in high school. My bff and decided that nite we weren't going to another reunion, because it was obvious to both of us that they had not matured even 30 yrs later. Still acting like they royalalty high schoolers and better than others.
IndyOnion18 1 year ago
I wasn't invited to our last reunion. I was the valedictorian. I also don't give a flying fish.
Suck it Trebek 1 year ago
The only reason I went to my 10th was because I knew I was better than all those bitches that bullied me to tears. Went with my friend who wasn't out in high school and also tormented. We were right. Now I can be petty as f**k so when one of the ring leaders came up to me and complimented my shoes, I looked down my nose at her and said they were worth more than her life oh and by the way my pussy doesn't smell like tuna because I'm a whore. She just looked at me horrified. I spun on my beautiful heels ready to take the next one down.
Charles McChristy 1 year ago
After the chaos surrounding my 10 year reunion, I will never go to one. Was thrown together by the "popular" kids. When others tried to be on the committee they were ignored and treated the same was as they were 10 years prior. The real kicker is, the organizers tried making it so that anyone that did not attend the reunion could not meet up with the group before or after it took place. I was popular, but not in the same click, so when I started speaking out, a lot of people supported me. In the end, the thing was a disaster. The organizer begged me to come, and even offered to pay my ticket, because they knew a lot of the class would follow if I went. I told them there was no circumstance in which I would attend. They ended up losing money on the event. Serves them right.
Charles McChristy 1 year ago
Because that's when most of the popular kids peaked and they want to relive the glory days.
Load More Replies... Gary Geracci 1 year ago
Went to one reunion. I was the poor kid in school. Now the richest one in the class group. Didn't phase me any. I worked for every bit. Had fun and none knew that I was that wealthy. Wouldn't have it any other way.
#15
I haven't been keeping tabs on anyone from my class save for myself. So I guess that makes me the most popular person in my class as far as I know.
I'm not doing great
Hugh Cookson 2 years ago
Been there done that - contact some of them, you'll be surprised at the positive reactions ..... in the meantime, chin up, chest out, be positive and keep going ... good luck Biggles x
Bill Atticis 1 year ago
I hope you get better soon. Maybe consider counseling if you are comfortable with that?
#16
The most popular happened to be the highest performing, most of them didn't thrive after completing college.
I think the rigid process of accomplishing assigned tasks as they're presented screws people up when they're met with the real world and all of a sudden it's finally up to them to learn how to improvise.
Nykky 1 year ago (edited)
This happens with a lot of autistic people, including me! The structure and rigidity of school makes real life hit like a freight train. Especially if we were always kept inside and never socialized with people, whether our choice or them being d***s. Life really screws us over majority of the time, and I'm just so frustrated that it's unemotional, apathetic jerks who are in charge of everything. Old f***s stuck in their ways who never want change. (I know this from a family friend being a superintendent in a prestigious school district here. He was always trying to recommend great changes. They never wanted it because "tRaDiTiOn".)
Scott Rackley 1 year ago
Sounds like they missed the point of college, they learned what to think instead of how to think
#17
I was once on a train from NYC back to my hometown for Thanksgiving. By chance I ended up sitting next to a guy from my high school; I didn’t know him that well, as we were part of a semi-large graduating class, but we were familiar enough to chat with each other, to pass the time.
He was good friends with two of the most popular dudes from our high school, and he said they were both kinda flailing in early adulthood:
-One of them got broken up with by his equally popular girlfriend, right before college had started, and he just could not handle it. He would show up to her school, unannounced, and just see what she was up to & bark at any dude who talked to her. She had to threaten getting a restraining order to get him to back off. Apparently he chilled out a little bit in the ensuing years, but just really struggled to make things happen for himself outside of the high school environment.
-The other did mostly fine during our college years, but really started to struggle once we all graduated & he lost the comforting structures of school. He was a handsome dude in our town, as a teen, but now, living in NYC, he was in an ocean of handsome dudes and apparently struggled a little bit not getting preferential treatment as often & not having girls interested in him after spitting a minimal amount of game.
I don’t bring this up to wish ill will on either of them. I think they’re both interesting examples of how poorly prepared most people are to jump off the “cliff” of leaving high school: you’ve spent your *entire* life building a life & network within a very specific life structure, and then suddenly, overnight, it all goes away.
I think some kids, especially ones who got popular *early* (like, going all the way back to 4th or 5th grade) do really struggle with the fact that one day, they’re thrust amid a sea of new people who do not perceive them as popular.
Hphizzle 1 year ago
This kind of story makes me glad I didn’t peak in high school. Just trudging through really set me up for adulthood.
Nykky 1 year ago (edited)
For anyone struggling, I had suicidal ideations in high school, was a bit of a sleaze (because I thought sleeping around was how you showed respect since I wasn't shown any growing up), was depressed and anxious all the time, and stressed beyond belief. I was finally given a break in my 30s with a job I'm actually enjoying, and I know I'll be able to get further at some point, but I'm just trying to take it a bit easier now. I've figured myself out more, and it's likely not your fault if you struggle in your teens. Society doesn't give a f**k about that period because they want to forget they ever existed then. But it's the perfect time to mess up, do things, begin to find yourself. But if you don't, you may not be a failure. You may just be a late bloomer. Have patience for yourself. Forgive yourself. Be kind. You'll get there.
M Calad 1 year ago
This exact phenomenon happened to some popular kids in my small town school. They were used to the attention, preferential treatment and standing out. Once they moved out to big cities for Uni, they found it hard to adapt due to not being special anymore. They couldn't stand being one more in a sea of people. Some of them came back to town after one or two semesters. Some just kept hanging out with the small circle of friends from our town and never made other friends. Interesting...
Gary Geracci 1 year ago
Funny, I was never what you could say,"Popular" had friends in my circle(Model car and airplane builders all!) Could teach how to do it well.
#18
Lot of em dead, some highly successful, some still have their varsity football pic as their Facebook profile picture.
In my 30s
iseefractals 1 year ago
A few months ago, my best friend of 25 years called me and told me that the mutual friend who introduced us was killed in a hit and run. Crossing the street in the evening after work, on his way home to his wife and 3 kids. He was 42. Still haven't found the driver, probably never will. Quite a few of my childhood friends have ended up in the ground, one ended up in prison for multiple murders and attempted murders
Gary Geracci 1 year ago
In my eighties now. Four of us left .I am only one of two not in a Nursing Home
#19
Turned out just like the rest of us.
Some were successful af, some discovered being a d**k had repercussions, and some took it to the bank.
The real shockers are the homecoming queens. Some turned out fantastic and some ended up loony.
So yeah. Turned out just like the rest of us.
#20
He graduated in 1961 as an all-star athlete with letters in two sports over four years. Class and school president, homecoming king - the whole package in a very small town. He was handsome, too.
Went to college on a sports scholarship and flunked out the first semester. Came home, knocked up his HS girl friend, married had two kids, and got divorced. Worked for my dad as a farmer and remarried maybe 10 years later.
Dad decided to bankroll this '*star' with an underwritten line of credit so the wunderkind could start grass seed farming on his own. This credit line swelled up to over $850K - in the late 70s, or nearly $4 million in today's money. Come to find out he was buying expensive equipment and also chartering jets to Las Vegas for golf and gambling trips for his friends. He'd often be seen in bars lighting cigars with $100 bills because... why not? (Dad then cut him off and seized all his property, sold it, and managed to pay the bank most of the money from that)
Fast forward to today: He's 80, living on his (remarried) wife's pension as a teacher and taking care of her as she developed early Alzheimer's. His mom gave him a house and place to live forty years ago, so he has that. I looked him up on FB recently. He has as his 'profile photo' a fuzzy snapshot of his HS 'Most Valuable Player' trophy.
(*he's a cousin)
Julie Schulz 2 years ago
That's really sad. Some people just never quite manage to completely grow up or move beyond their "glory years."
Lucca Wenner 1 year ago
Glad your dad did not get too badly burned. I was scared when you started describing it!
#21
M. took a break up badly, took a bad beating from the cops, took to hard [substances], found his body in the river.
A. tried to get clever with 4 guys over a pool table, outside beating left him quadriplegic.
P. a terrible bully, tormented dozens of kids (all younger than him) throughout all 5 years of senior school, now a social work child counsellor and all round good guy for those who don’t know. C**t.
K. Professor of Science and MBE recipient.
J. Couldn’t get over the death of his brother through alcoholism, so proceeded to drink himself to death, go figure.
BarkingSpider 1 year ago
Hopefully P realized what a s**t he was and turned himself around, trying to make up for being an a*****e in high school by helping kids. I'm guessing his home life wasn't good.
#22
They’re making askreddit posts
#23
One of if not the most popular girl in my grade had money, her parents owned the only liquor store in county (dry counties for 45 miles.) Well that gravy train ended when the county went wet and prices got competitive, problem was they apparently never saved money the whole time. Then their regulars saw that the price was much lower at the gas station compared to what they had been paying them, like 30% over SRP. They closed very quickly, all their luxury vehicles got sold but they had the house paid. They moved after a while. I saw her 3 years post graduation and she had doubled her weight and was having pics printed of her fiancé who I found out was a trust fund guy after the fact. (The souped up muscle car in his pics was a hint) He broke it off with her like a month later. Heresay was he figured out she was just there for money. Most of that info I got second hand and I was only present for the pictures part. I don’t use Facebook so I never verified anything. I also do not care to investigate, I’ve stopped letting hs bs live in my head rent free.
#24
Last I heard they were failing to organize a 10 year reunion. I think it technically happened, but the facebook group where they organized it has like 5 people in it.
Also, 2 of them are ministers now, and *wow* would I have stories to tell their congregations.
SweetCheesySpaghetti 2 years ago
So few people in my class were interested in a reunion that they made it a reunion for classes of a three year span. It was still less than 200 people lmao
Huddo's sister 1 year ago
200 is less than the total number of people in the top three years of high school! We had 70 in year 12 iirc. We were meant to have a ten year reunion, there was a facebook page set up by the Dux (valedictorian) but then it was deleted suddenly, before we even decided on a date.
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Jane Hower 1 year ago
Had a fling with the preachers boy in our class. Boys will be boys!! hehe
Thomas Hunt, Jr. 2 years ago
Only way I'll go to a reunion is if someone gives me the opportunity and means to destroy the whole damn school system. Take nothing out and demolish everything with extreme joy.
#25
Was a popular ish kid: currently in school
Other people in my friend group:
- Dropped out of ivy league
- Got pregnant in freshman year at ivy league
- Dropped out of west coast CS school for a start up. Not going well
- on track for med school but not currently doing well on MCAT. Considering quitting medicine
- went to europe to model. Not going well
Doesn’t look too good for me atm lol
Lucca Wenner 1 year ago
You can do it! Hold in there and do not give up! And ask for help and advice when you need it, no shame in that! This way, we can learn from others screwups and not repeat them.
#26
I saw some pictures from my 30th year reunion. The popular kids and jocks did not seem to fair well. The folks who did well academically seemed to have done very well in life all around. I have bumped into a few others over the years as well, and many have done well others settled into low wage jobs. The back parking lot crowd mostly ended up blue collar but not unhappy lives. It was kind of a mixed bag. More people died than I would have thought.
Marie BellaDonna 1 year ago (edited)
Just goes to show that brains are more important than beauty and brawn. Looks fade, and muscles weaken. But good intelligence will take you far in life. Not always. You have to have drive, and organization, etc, to go with the smarts. And some people are very intelligent, but have other issues that block them along the way. But smarts still last longer, and win out more often, than a pretty face or a muscular physique. (Also, the people so concerned with keeping their faces pretty or their muscles big often prioritize that over most everything else. So when that fades away, they have nothing to fall back on. But a smart person always has a plan B.) And happiness and self-confidence are most important of all. If you have that, it doesn't matter what you do, or where you station is in life. You're content. That's the best way to live, of all.
#27
I had popular kids in my school who were popular because they were the loud and disruptive, too-cool-for-school jocks and meangirls type. They're not up to much last time I heard.
I also had popular kids in my school who were popular because they were extremely charismatic and well put together. These folks are doing just fine
Hugh Cookson 2 years ago
There are others, like me, who took no s**t for themselves or their friends and, being quite 'athletic' stopped a lot of bullying / intimidation before it got out of hand. There were a lot of fights, some I lost, most I won. I have more friends than those arseholes do.
#28
One has a nice music career going for them, which they put in a f**k-ton of work for and I'm so proud of them.
Another got hooked on several [substances] and is doing their best to get sober and I hope they get themselves well because they didn't deserve the life they've managed for themselves.
Don't know about any of the other ones since I didn't really know them.
Stay Off My Lawn 1 year ago
What kind of substances? Omg am I gonna get hooked on mineral water and bananas?!?!
#29
One of the more popular girls (who I had a gigantic crush on) posed for playboy right after high school, got pregnant, got married. This was 20 years ago. I hear how she’s divorced and works as a manager in a retail store. (Nothing wrong with that, just that’s where she is now)
#30
One went trans. One went to prison. One became a pompous musician. Most of them gained weight like it was their job
Windrunner 1 year ago
My answer is "because you cannot control my speech. You can take responsibility for your own emotions, and you don't have to listen to me"
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J 1 year ago
For the purposes of this, how else would you have them write it?. Keeping with the spirte of a short verse.?
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Brittany Copeland 1 year ago
Let's go most and least popular. Most popular was probably the only truly nice popular kid in the school, worked hard, smart, and always dreamed of ending up in the NFL. I watched the draft a few years after graduation and there Trey Flowers was, bursting into tears when his name came up. Good for him! Least popular was... me. I was an awkward girl who didn't understand the culture, worked 2 jobs, had few friends (I ate lunch with the security guards), and had a severe skin and anxiety condition. Now, I'm not making the best money, but I'm happy, in shape, and u like most of my classmates, do not have 4 kids and a divorce under my belt. I'm waiting for my reunion so I can show up just to shock people. They teased and bullied me for years for my looks; I'd love to see their reaction to me NOW.
Ashton Black 1 year ago
personally, i don't think it's THAT bad, but i don't like "went trans" at all
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#31
Jamie had a chance, well she really did. Instead she dropped out and had a couple of kids.
Mark still lives at home 'cause he's got no job. Just plays guitar and smokes a lot of [substances].
Jay [took his life].
Brandon OD'd and died.
#32
All I know is that they have a lot of children
#35
Popular cheerleader turned to [substances]. Basically a tweaker now with young children. Feel bad how things turned out for her since seemed like she had a bright future ahead of her in high school.
#37
They're still popular in the lives that they inhabit and for all intents and purposes look like they are happy.
#38
Guys got bald, girls got fat
What do you think ?
Tabula Rasa 1 year ago
The other unpopular kid in my class was a nerd and teacher's pet. She wasn't a nice girl; caught between arrogance (she's very intelligent) and incredible shyness & insecurity (she wore weird clothes, had a weird haircut that didn't work with her thick straight hair, and ugly glasses). I remember that she also had very crooked teeth. She was a straight A student, and had an amazing voice. 15 years later, at a reunion, I met her and hardly recognized her. Super beautiful, with gorgeous straight teeth, thick shiny hair down to her waist, and without glasses. She is now a very successful opera singer. We had a great time chatting. :) I always love stories about the unpopular kids that went through a "ugly duckling becomes beautiful swan" phase (not reducing that to just looks, though). Just kids who had, for whatever reasons, a tough time in school but then go on and absolutely shine in life.
Tabula Rasa 1 year ago
This is about the least popular guy in my class: He was incredibly smart but socially awkward as hell; always had ink on his fingers and lips, looked messy and disheveled, and wasn't interested in anything that was popular at the time. Unfortunately, he also had a name that was very easy to butcher and make fun of. He was a really nice guy, though; we were both members of the astronomy club at our school, and I enjoyed chatting with him, even though he was a frazzle-brain, and he couldn't make eye contact. I can still see him in chemistry class, brewing up disgusting esters with our teacher. Lol He ended up becoming the youngest ever professor in Germany, and works in Research and Innovation at BASF.
Lyoness 1 year ago
The most popular girl at our high school was doing incredibly well professionally - a national manager, headed straight to the C-suite, working 16 hour days. Then she had a breakdown and was diagnosed with a mental illness. These days she's semi retired and mostly a SAHM. She has less money but is a lot happier.
David 1 year ago
my old HS class the most popular kids, 1 graduated lawschool and is an attorney, one dropped out of college to start his own business and now owns several business including 3 restaurants (he was also the guy with all the side businesses in school, so it makes sense), One is a Rabbi, and one who was a athlete and jock type today is a 9-5 accountant with a family which is the complete opposite of what he was in HS
M O'Connell 2 years ago
Just for fun, I looked up a couple of people that I considered to be popular. One earned a BFA in Dance, and is in his 9th season with the Charlotte Ballet. Another is a State's Attorney. One married one of our teachers right after graduation.
KatSaidWhat 1 year ago
Right after graduation - high school or university/college?
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The Fan Of Nothing 1 year ago
I was a popular kid. Smart, talented, easy to talk to, and fun to hang out with. I'm doing terrible now. But then again, I wasnt doing great at that time either. My mom ended up dropping me and my siblings out, and then we were taken and put into an orphanage and split up, then I went to foster care, and after that I became homeless. Still am.
kath morgan 1 year ago
I couldn’t tell you what anyone is doing who wasn’t my friend, I don’t spend the energy keeping up with them. I know one of the sporty kids now plays professional football, that’s about it.
Lizz 1 year ago
I doubt most of my ( ex classmates ) remember me... Oddly enough, a guy who went to my school when I was in 7th grade ( cute as f**k!! ) went the same adult hs I did, ( 6 years later ) and still remembered me... ( I had a bf at the time and was too shy towards him but I still had a major crush on him after all those years and the fact that he remembered me was mindblowing at the time because I was a complete nerd and clueless af in 7th grade... ) Unfortunately we lost touch after exams and I 'm still wondering what he would look like now.... About 20 years later, a classmate I had - also in 7th grade - but wasn't really friends with, recognized me when I was handling my MIL's divorce.... She was a divorce lawyer..... It still surprises me.... I was always the kind of kid who blended in with the surroundings, it seemed....
talliloo 1 year ago
i would not have considered myself popular but did have quite of few friends from all of the so called cliques: jocks, nerds, stoners, etd. mostly hung with the stoners so when i do run into them now (usually on media) they are surprised i retired from a career in law enforcement.
Tabula Rasa 1 year ago
The other unpopular kid in my class was a nerd and teacher's pet. She wasn't a nice girl; caught between arrogance (she's very intelligent) and incredible shyness & insecurity (she wore weird clothes, had a weird haircut that didn't work with her thick straight hair, and ugly glasses). I remember that she also had very crooked teeth. She was a straight A student, and had an amazing voice. 15 years later, at a reunion, I met her and hardly recognized her. Super beautiful, with gorgeous straight teeth, thick shiny hair down to her waist, and without glasses. She is now a very successful opera singer. We had a great time chatting. :) I always love stories about the unpopular kids that went through a "ugly duckling becomes beautiful swan" phase (not reducing that to just looks, though). Just kids who had, for whatever reasons, a tough time in school but then go on and absolutely shine in life.
Tabula Rasa 1 year ago
This is about the least popular guy in my class: He was incredibly smart but socially awkward as hell; always had ink on his fingers and lips, looked messy and disheveled, and wasn't interested in anything that was popular at the time. Unfortunately, he also had a name that was very easy to butcher and make fun of. He was a really nice guy, though; we were both members of the astronomy club at our school, and I enjoyed chatting with him, even though he was a frazzle-brain, and he couldn't make eye contact. I can still see him in chemistry class, brewing up disgusting esters with our teacher. Lol He ended up becoming the youngest ever professor in Germany, and works in Research and Innovation at BASF.
Lyoness 1 year ago
The most popular girl at our high school was doing incredibly well professionally - a national manager, headed straight to the C-suite, working 16 hour days. Then she had a breakdown and was diagnosed with a mental illness. These days she's semi retired and mostly a SAHM. She has less money but is a lot happier.
David 1 year ago
my old HS class the most popular kids, 1 graduated lawschool and is an attorney, one dropped out of college to start his own business and now owns several business including 3 restaurants (he was also the guy with all the side businesses in school, so it makes sense), One is a Rabbi, and one who was a athlete and jock type today is a 9-5 accountant with a family which is the complete opposite of what he was in HS
M O'Connell 2 years ago
Just for fun, I looked up a couple of people that I considered to be popular. One earned a BFA in Dance, and is in his 9th season with the Charlotte Ballet. Another is a State's Attorney. One married one of our teachers right after graduation.
KatSaidWhat 1 year ago
Right after graduation - high school or university/college?
Load More Replies... The Fan Of Nothing 1 year ago
I was a popular kid. Smart, talented, easy to talk to, and fun to hang out with. I'm doing terrible now. But then again, I wasnt doing great at that time either. My mom ended up dropping me and my siblings out, and then we were taken and put into an orphanage and split up, then I went to foster care, and after that I became homeless. Still am.
kath morgan 1 year ago
I couldn’t tell you what anyone is doing who wasn’t my friend, I don’t spend the energy keeping up with them. I know one of the sporty kids now plays professional football, that’s about it.
Lizz 1 year ago
I doubt most of my ( ex classmates ) remember me... Oddly enough, a guy who went to my school when I was in 7th grade ( cute as f**k!! ) went the same adult hs I did, ( 6 years later ) and still remembered me... ( I had a bf at the time and was too shy towards him but I still had a major crush on him after all those years and the fact that he remembered me was mindblowing at the time because I was a complete nerd and clueless af in 7th grade... ) Unfortunately we lost touch after exams and I 'm still wondering what he would look like now.... About 20 years later, a classmate I had - also in 7th grade - but wasn't really friends with, recognized me when I was handling my MIL's divorce.... She was a divorce lawyer..... It still surprises me.... I was always the kind of kid who blended in with the surroundings, it seemed....
talliloo 1 year ago
i would not have considered myself popular but did have quite of few friends from all of the so called cliques: jocks, nerds, stoners, etd. mostly hung with the stoners so when i do run into them now (usually on media) they are surprised i retired from a career in law enforcement.
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