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In high school and as I unfortunately found out in college as well, you had social hierarchies. The social hierarchies typically consisted of attractive girls when it came to girls, occasionally including the few girls who were really close friends with attractive girls as well. In high school it was the cheerleading squads while in college it was the cheerleading squads, female athletes, as well as girls in certain sororities.
For guys, in high school it was the guys on sports teams for the most part. In college it expanded to guys on sports teams as well as guys in certain fraternities/social clubs.
The people on top of the social hierarchies in both college and high school enjoyed fun parties for the most part. Guys enjoyed fun parties and events with attractive girls who came to those parties and events such as nice trips to fun places, date nights, formals, etc.
What I want to know is, from the adults here, if there is a social hierarchy to life after college, how does it work and who is generally on top of it?
Outside of the obvious such as celebrities and politicians.
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Yes, very much so....
People usually form groups over interests.
Alcoholics associate with other alcoholics. Even being a light drinker doesn't qualify being in their clique. Light drinking for me is 2-3 beers max over a few hours in a evening at someone's home or public place where driving is required.
After high school it's mostly about who has money and who doesn't. The more of it you have, the higher up you are. Looking good alone no longer cuts it, at least not for men.
This is why it's not unusual to see people who were near the bottom in high school or were nerds/geeks end up higher as adults and vice versa for the cool jocks who couldn't make it to the Pros.
In high school and as I unfortunately found out in college as well, you had social hierarchies. The social hierarchies typically consisted of attractive girls when it came to girls, occasionally including the few girls who were really close friends with attractive girls as well. In high school it was the cheerleading squads while in college it was the cheerleading squads, female athletes, as well as girls in certain sororities.
For guys, in high school it was the guys on sports teams for the most part. In college it expanded to guys on sports teams as well as guys in certain fraternities/social clubs.
The people on top of the social hierarchies in both college and high school enjoyed fun parties for the most part. Guys enjoyed fun parties and events with attractive girls who came to those parties and events such as nice trips to fun places, date nights, formals, etc.
What I want to know is, from the adults here, if there is a social hierarchy to life after college, how does it work and who is generally on top of it?
Outside of the obvious such as celebrities and politicians.
Yes, my daughter was upset when working at her first post-college job at some of the nonsense that went on, and she said, "Mom, I thought this stuff ended after high school, but I encountered it in college and now in an office."
I told her, "Honey, high school never ends."
Told that story at work, and it became our catch phrase when people tried to go around us or break the rules or give information that was supposed to be shared with everyone to a select few.
These were highly paid professional people and in some cases political appointees acting like ninth-graders.
Yup, I agree they are at work as well. Though some offices are cliquey than others. I ended up losing a job early in my career because I didn't "fit in." This is where I learned that the work socializing stuff is really critical, you can't be viewed as an outsider.
I had a boss recently, in her 40s, who really needed approval from the young cute 20 somethings (you know the popular girls). She had to be their friends. She follows them on social media and comments on their posts. She had to know what was happening in their lives. She would test them daily to check in and continued that on a regular basis after she moved to a new job. She would try to schedule get monthly togethers with them (dinner at her house, brunch, dinner...).
She was very high school, she couldn't interact with people unless she was their BFF. As a result we didn't get along as well since I had no interest in being her "friend." I have a work life and a personal life and I choose how and when they intersect. For her they always had to intersect, at least in the work environment we shared.
Those 20 somethings want me to mentor them on work-life balance as a result. We got along well, based on what developed naturally. We are still in touch and meet every few weeks.
It was all very strange. I used to think that people moved out of that by their late 20s.
My best advice, for personal happiness, is to really just find out who you are and just be yourself. Whatever that is. finding happiness and acceptance in yourself is more fulfilling and freeing.
Oddly made me more "popular" in college and beyond. But I don't particularly care what other people think about me and oddly this made me more popular. Just being myself made more people want to know who I was and what I am about.
People always find ways to form groups, but those definitions change a bit with age.
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