In our society, there is a constant pressure to “fit in,” but what does that entail? Does it mean having good grades or having a completely perfect life? No matter what you do, there always seems to be something you can do better to fit in.

The influence of the internet

People on the internet that seemingly have the “perfect life” tend to capitalize off of people’s insecurities by posting videos such as “how to get abs in 5 minutes” or “how to get clear skin overnight,” knowing that these things are impossible.

Beauty influencers will say almost anything to make sure people want to watch their content, even if that means lying and putting other people down in the process. When people try five-minute workouts that don’t show results right away, their mind immediately jumps to the idea that there is something wrong with them. The more people see those videos, the more they feel the pressure to have a 

flawless body, clear skin, and perfect life. Even though these standards are extremely unrealistic, people still put themselves down for not meeting these unreachable expectations. The internet tells people that they can be anything except themselves. This creates a chain reaction of people becoming insecure, so they lie about who they are. Those people then make others insecure, and the same vicious cycle continues.

Maintaining good grades

Throughout our 12+ years of school, there is a constant expectation to maintain exceptional grades. The only way students are seen as smart is with a 4.0 GPA and a remarkable SAT score. However, the grading system can be very unfair and unreliable. Many students complete all of their homework but don’t test well. They will most likely end up with a low grade due to the fact that tests and quizzes are worth the majority of our grade. If our homework grade was worth the amount at as our test grade, we wouldn’t have this problem.

Low grades lead students to believe that they are unintelligent, which can be very misleading. In most cases, low grades can cause students to lose motivation to turn in homework, study for tests, and engage themselves in class. Low grades can be very detrimental to students’ mental health and self- worth, especially when it is caused solely by poor testing skills. Some of the smartest people could have poor grades simply because they panic during tests, causing them to be unable to think clearly. The grading system can be very unfair to certain groups of students and can cause them to think they aren’t as smart as people with A’s and B’s, even though this is not always the case.

Things online aren’t always how they appear to be. People that look perfect can secretly be very flawed, and some of the smartest people can have the lowest grades. The way people are perceived by others is all dependent on what they see on the outside. However, the outside doesn’t always reflect who the person truly is. Appearances can be misleading and inaccurate. Many people only show the things they want others to see, not who they actually are.