I chatted with one of Jonah's classmates at a neighborhood party a few weeks ago. She reported in teenage up-speak, "Jonah is semi-popular!" She and Jonah and all of their peers are infinitely aware of the pecking order at school. I cringed and had a flashback to my own high school. I had a foot in the brainy clique and the artsy clique and the sporty clique, so I wasn't a unhappy loner, but that whole experience of ranking still makes me shudder. 

At lunch with some friends the other day, I spoke with one woman who confessed that she wasn't a great student in school and went to a local community college when she graduated. She looked down, like the shame was still fresh. 

Studies are now showing that the frames that we find ourselves in high school have long term implications. The popular kids end up making more money. The princesses are passive. We have to relive high school through Facebook. 

New York Magazine has a great article, which sums up a bunch of the latest research. 

What was your label in high school? Has the label stuck?