I was never popular in high school, but I was very aware of the social order and the categories that I didn’t fit in. “Hmmm, let’s see, not going to run for student council. Not a member of the cool crowd. A jock, but not a superstar. Smart, but not valedictorian. Etc.”
“Popular rarely correlates with guts, hard work or a willingness to lead (and be willing to be wrong along the way)…Worth considering is the value of losing school elections and other popularity contests. Losing reminds you that the opinion of unaffiliated strangers is worthless. They don’t know you, they’re not interested in what you have to offer and you can discover that their rejection actually means nothing.
When you focus on delighting an audience you care about, you strip the masses of their power.”
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I'm motivated to join God in his global reclamation project. He's on the move, setting his sons and daughters free from their places of captivity. And he's partnering with those of us who have been freed to go and free others.
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Hey friend…This is stellar. And as a guy who had seasons of life where popularity was evident I have learned that all those puffy promised relationships vanish eventually. I love and respect you Seth. Just lost a friend a few days ago after his cancer battle. It made me more determined than ever to end well. I know that is your heart too.
That was me, too – stuck somewhere in between two extremes. My sense is that most people live in that place, because those caricatures are given to us by movies and pop culture. They don’t exist. Real people are complex and complicated; they cannot be pigeonholed.
What happened with the girl?
I totally relate to this post. Great truth!
About the girl: Her name was Tonya Waits. I knew her from youth group. She was going out with our All-State halfback on the football team (his name was John Massey, I think).
I don’t know if they ever broke up.
love this one!!thank you..
I knew when I read this post who the girl was :). Then I thought what an odd thing to remember. But time showed she was not the one for you…
Hi Nancy. Funny to debrief this with you on my blog all these years later! Yeah, it’s interesting how life takes these odd twists and turns. I’m thankful to the Lord for the way it turned out. In an odd way, that situation was an encouragement. Just to know that another human being liked me when I was doubting myself brought me hope.