You come to school on the first day as the new kid with no friends. As you look around, you see different groups of people. Many questions race through your mind as you walk down the crowded hallway of her high school: Will I fit in here? Will I be accepted for who I truly am?

High school is the time in most people’s lives when they are discovering their passions and interests. People form opinions, switch groups of friends, and sometimes, take bold steps like changing their gender identity. With all the changes occurring within each one, some wonder if they can be accepted for the way they truly are or if they should suppress their true selves in order to fit in with the crowd.

Some have a more difficult time than others because of peers who form opinions about them immediately.

A junior, Ryan Pau commented, “People are arrogant, ignorant, and judgmental towards everyone about what everyone else wears, how they look, and what they do.”

When people think that they are superior to another, they bully him or her because of the way the person looks, acts, or dresses because they think a “normal” person should be and look like.

Pau added, “People get bullied because of their differences and that people do not know how to accept other people’s differences so they take advantage and bully their underlings [in their minds].”

When someone is a victim of bullying, the bully’s friends often join in the teasing in order to fit into a crowd at school or to avoid being taunted for defending the victim.

A student who wished to remain anonymous, doesn’t feel accepted for who she is at Carlmont. She said, “A lot of people exclude people if they are different. When a person feels that, they tell their friends and they look down on someone. If you get the attention of more popular people, they’ll bully you, but if it’s regular people, they won’t bully you.”

On the other hand, some people believe that although people in high school can be judgmental, they can tolerate people who are different.

Claudio Cortez, a senior, said, “It’s not that we don’t accept (people who are different). I feel like we don’t put that much attention to them. I just feel like we’re very seperated at school.”

In most high schools, there are cliques depending on one’s personality and interests. A lot of people hang out with their own group of friends rather than try to meet new people. People don’t necessarily look down on other groups at school, but often stick with their own group.

Others believe that Carlmont is an accepting place.

Freshman Spencer Stewart said, “People are really accepting and don’t judge people that much. I think people would find friends easily at Carlmont and join friend groups quickly.”

Even though there are many cliques and groups in high school, a new student would easily find a crowd that matches their interests and their personalities.

Freshman Chamonn Baldwin said, “You have to find the right group to be in. Everybody is the same in different ways.”

In a school with over two thousand students, it would be impossible to not find anybody who is different in the same way as you are. Is the environment not accepting or are you just not willing to search for the right group of friends for you?

If you are not willing to put yourself out there and search, then you may not feel accepted. Yes, people are judgemental. But that shouldn’t prevent you from being who you are. If you take a step back and truly look, our student body is very diverse in various ways to people who may be considered “different.”