Friendship (n). The emotions or conduct of friends; the state of being friends.

“The emotions or conduct of friends.” contest judge, did the definition say that those emotions couldn’t be faked? I didn’t think so, either. You can fake a smile, a laugh, an “I love you”, and more, so why couldn’t you fake a friendship? You sure can, I’ve seen it. I’ve seen a group of eight young girls all do it to each other. The worst part is that they all knew they were doing it to each other. I was one of those eight, and I’m guilty of this. You see, contest judge, we lied so much, so well, and so often that we started fooling ourselves! I stopped buying it when I received a rude awakening, and theirs is coming too. The story of eight happy girls is the saddest of them all.
Clique (n). A small group of people, with shared interests or other features in common, who spend time together and do not readily allow others to join them.

“. . . and do not readily allow others to join them.” Were you ever in a clique in high school, contest judge? If you weren’t, I’d be happy to tell you all about it. From the outside looking in, I’m sure it looks like a great time. Having plans every weekend, always showing up to parties fifteen minutes late together (on time is lame, too late is rude). But actually being in a clique is no walk in the park. You want to be an individual? You want to be yourself? You want to be unique? Sorry, go ahead and throw all of that out of the window, because it’s not happening. I was in different cliques that maybe lasted six months at a time all the way up until middle school, which is when I joined “the clique.” This clique introduced me to something called popularity. Both a blessing and a curse. In this clique, there were two teams of two, a team of three, and one girl who faded in and out. I say teams because they all competed, and none of them liked the other teams, even though they were all “best friends.”

Realization (n). An act of becoming fully aware of something as a fact.

“An act of becoming fully aware . . .” It took some time, but I came to the realization of what these friendships were making me become. Last winter, every girls worst fear happened to the “queen bee” of the clique. She came to me about it, and I supported her. I helped her. I didn’t tell a soul, simply because that’s what I thought I owed to her as a friend. This summer, just days before school started, the same thing happened to me. So, why not go to her for advice? Why not go to her expecting the same support and help? Why not go to her expecting her not to tell a soul? She owed that to me as a friend, right? Wrong! Contest judge, have you ever walked out of a warm building into the cold air, and felt it smack you in the face? That is how I felt when a few days later multiple people that I had no contact with texted me to ask if my “secret situation” was true. Another one of my “friends” called to say that she was telling everyone about it on their water break at volleyball practice. And, not only that, but the rest of my “best friends” didn’t defend my name. None of them seemed to be able to bring themselves to do the things I’d do for them, so away I went.

Civil (adj). Courteous and polite.

“We don’t have to be friends, but can we at least be civil?” were the words I received from the girl who had the power to ruin my reputation, and did so. Not a sorry, not a sign of regret, nothing. Still, it seemed like a fair enough request to me. Really, it is their loss. What is so special about them? What do they have on other people? Popularity, looks, nice houses, the best clothes, etc. So what? None of those things will get them a college degree. None of them will matter after we graduate. I repeat, none of them will matter after we graduate. People will look back years from now and see them as the snobby rich girls from high school, and that is all they’ll see them as. I want to be seen as my own person, contest judge. I want people to look at me and see Emily Wilcox, not “a popular girl.” Was it worth being popular? No. If I had the chance to go back, would I have told the “queen bee” what I told her? Yes! I would take a bad reputation over living a lie any day. Everybody that you meet is either a blessing or a lesson, and let me say, lesson learned.

Lesson (n). An amount of teaching given at one time; a period of learning or teaching.