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Hi, I'm a teenager new to this area and was told about Ebrandon. So I thought I would take my chances to ask you all for some friendly advise.  
I find myself asking why I can't be that "person", the one who is popular, gets noticed, is asked my opinion or advise on issues.  
I have asked my parents about the things I am going through and as always they have been very supportive, down to earth and very understanding. I just thought I would reach out to maybe some people that have also faced or are facing the same issues I am, I guess you can call them "Teenage Issues".  
I don't smoke, drink or do any kinds of drugs as some of kids my own age due, yet its those people that i see as being "popular", I know I am very approachable, down to earth, and fun to be around.  
Any suggestions, opinions or words of advise would be greatly appreciated.  
 
Thank You

I can relate to this topic as I myself was once a teenager that faced the same situations, one piece of advise I can pass onto you is "Stay The Course", be that leader you were always meant to be not a follower. It is great to hear you are not into the drugs and or drinking at your age, It seems more and more people including teenagers are turning towards drugs and alcohol.  
One doesn't need to have a large social circle as sometimes all it takes is that one special dedicated friend that you can always rely on.  
Sure it is nice to be popular and to be that person, but at what cost. Be yourself and stay true to yourself and everything will work out. All the best.

Popularity is not worth those things you mentioned. If a person needs those things in order to be popular, they are setting themselves up for trouble and/or a hard life at some point, sooner or later.  
 
It sounds as though even though you may have doubts sometimes, that you are confident and level headed. Those are fantastic traits to possess!  
 
I agree with the above poster...stay your course and try to excel...build on who you are. It is better to feel good about yourself and your choices instead of having regret and better to maintain respect from others because of good character than have to figure out how to get it back.  
 
I was very different from those around me, just as you are. It is very good to be different. Teen life is hard, but if you can get through all that pressure in those years, you can do pretty much anything.  
 
As D.H. said...stay the course. The world needs more good leaders and those who are willing to be different.

As cliche as it sounds, be yourself, in 5-10 years you won't regret being yourself vs trying to be "cool". You will have a smug sense of self accomplishment when you see those popular people with their life in disarray. Keeping that in mind some people are lucky and can do no wrong and are fortunate enough to only make winning choices.  
 
You do you, the only decisions you make that you will regret are the ones that you make that compromise who you are

One more thing to add, if only now you could see how brief and meaningless these feelings of loneliness and not fitting in are in your life in the grand scheme of the things. These times are brief and will pass

Your a teen and I'm an old fart. I read the above comments and agree with them about being yourself, but there is more to it than just being yourself. I might sound like an old hippy with what I'm going to say but a person has to be at peace with themselves as well as the world around them. Just being yourself will not do it if you question who you are or maybe even if you question who others are. You mention that you don't drink, and you don't smoke, and you don't do drugs, which are considered good things not to do, but do you judge those who do these sort of things.  
I guess what I'm saying with my rambling is that to be accepted one must be accepting. There are people who just seem to get attention wherever they go, these people are noticed, but also these people notice others, the look up in the presence of others and acknowledge their presence, they are helpful to others, and the world is not about themselves.  
Being a teenager does come with it's own set of concerns. You will go through changes physically as well as mentally and it just part of growing up.  
 
I hope my rambling does make some sense, like I said your a teen an I'm an old fart. Line from a song that maybe says it all, "don't worry be happy".

Life is like the wind. You will find yourself being blown in many directions. There are no easy answers on the subject of it. Experience, and the constant efforts of both success and failure will help you get through it . Being accepted, or popular is always a curiousity everyone will have. But popularity is also like surfing: it doesn't matter how good one is; everyone wipes out at one time or another. You will find, as you continue to grow, popularity and acceptance can be both good and bad. It all comes down to the choices that you make within it, and their results. Striving to fit in and be popular can be rewarding and confidence building, which will help you with success as an adult, but then again, doing something you are not comfortable with, or goes beyond who you are as a person, can be damaging. My advice is to first define yourself, and who you are. Popularity is temporary ( one quote I came up wth a while ago is this: "fitting in. What a terrible rut to be left in").Defining yourself by adhering to a strict set of principles will guide you for the course of your life. Enjoy the friends and family you have right now. In reality, you will really only carry 10% of your current close group into adulthood, so popularity really is overated, and family doesn't last forever either. When they are gone, you will be changed whether you like it or not. Have fun, but keep educating yourself. Better to be burdened with the debt of education now, than pay for the expense of it later in life when you have little time. Don't forget to breathe every now and then. Life gets stale otherwise. Don't worry about love or try to rush it. Forced love becomes a statistic, true love lasts longer in the eyes of the courts. Make every effort worth the results, and thigs will come easier with time. Help those in need, be strong for those who are weak, lead where a voice is not present. Most of all, remember that life is your and yours alone, and so are the choices. Be prepared in knowing that at any time, you can leave this world the same way you came in, kicking and screaming, cranky and tired. Some of us might be lucky enough to eave it clothed. Or perhaps not. Might as well laugh a little at that thought. I finish this the way I started it: life is like the wind, you will find yourself being blown in many directions.

is an important thing in life especially when at school age....or I should say feels like an important thing......I was that faceless person in the crowd growing up, partly because I chose to be. I now realize much of it stems from low self confidence & self esteem. So a little public mental health counseling made me feel better about the type of thing you speak of.  
On another note something my mom told me relating to this subject and how little it matters later in adult life.....when she was in school she was not one of the "popular" kids and went "unnoticed" as well. The popular kids were the rich ones and had a poor attitude but everything went stereotypically their way in life and the community. When everyone grew up all those "popular" kids who coasted by on their parents names and the fact they were always favored, the tables turned. Those kids ended up as grown ups stuck in a rut in the same place as the same "cool" people, well the others who were forced to find other ways to be noticed made something of themselves. Hope my ramblings also made a little sense.  
 
Good luck & stay confident in yourself!

You are like a breath of spring..... You sound so mature in that you are wise beyond your years..... It must be that your parents are doing a great job as parents....Never loose sight of the good qualities you have today,,, and your optimistic outlook on your future. You sound like someone who wants to do the right thing in life. You also sound like someone who is just trying to fit in this thing called life... Have you just moved to Brandon & how young are you ?? You know life is a ( one day at a time affair ) You have a jump start on many as you seem to know yourself well & what you don't want to be in life...AS for finding new friends how about posting an add on e-Brandon stating perhaps a meet up with people your age with similar interests... There are a lot of good young families in Brandon who would perhaps welcome someone like you...You never know just what is around the next corner in life... But you must get out there & seek & search...You might be able to open doors for yourself & for others that will bring about great happiness. Are your parents reading your post on here & don't be afraid to share it with them.. It sounds like they are very connected to your life & only want the best for you...Never give up & good luck to you...

Just by what you wrote of your issues that worries you in my opinion, you are already a great person. Be you, be yourself there is nothing wrong with you, enjoy yourself of who you are, be proud for not following others.  
Do your best throughout your life and stay on the right side of the fence and you will be someone with a face.  
Take care

do you go to school or college? this is a good place to start, also joining clubs and finding people with similar interests, a part time job is a good way to meet people and being that person who smiles at you at tims or the mall too, even the "cool" kids will notice, and say I see that kid around, he/she's seems nice..

You don't want to be part of the "Popular Group" - you would have to compromise your values again and again. If you are new to the area, be patient sooner or later you will find your niche. You could try volunteering to fill any gaps in your life. Our daughter went through something similar, when she finally found her "niche" she figured out she had been looking in the wrong direction. Those people are still in touch with her today years later. On that note when she would come home from university she would find those popular people eager to connect with her when she went through their check outs or waited on her table at restaurants.

You don't want to be one of the "Popular" ones! The ones that get everything handed to them in school and have the big social groups usually end up with nothing after high school. Friends leave and they don't know how to deal with life on their own.  
 
You sound so mature! I as a teen got into the wrong group doing all the bad stuff and it got me to rock bottom, that's definitely not the route you want to go! Go try out for some clubs or find somewhere to volunteer! Participate in a fundraiser or something, you're sure to find great people!  
 
Just keep being you! In the end the best friends will end up finding you!

When I was in high school, I was very timid and shy, very hesitant to interact with the others in my class. I was the top of almost all my classes. I was regularly snubbed socially. At the same time, I think I was able to somewhat block out what happened around me socially (people hanging out, parties, birthday parties I never got invites to that people tried to hide from me)...I lived within myself quite a bit.  
 
When I got to University, I started to find some like-minded people, and become more confident. I found that people respected me and my thoughts and opinions, and often came to me for advice.  
 
When I finished graduate school, I went to work in an area where I knew nobody, and had to do a lot of cold calling for work. I found I got over my discomfort of talking to people I didn't know well, and really grew and became more confident and outgoing.  
 
My advice for you: Don't compromise who you are. Be interesting, be interested in learning and in the world around you, cultivate a informed world view. Be true to yourself, and your integrity will be known and respected. Don't rub peoples' noses in who you are, just be.  
 
The right people will come into your life: get out and do things you enjoy, join groups and interact with people.  
 
Don't wait to be let into the popular crowd, your own personal growth and development will be neglected by trying to become accepted by them. And that would be a truly regrettable situation.

My daughter and her friends are the same as you. She had a hard time fitting in per say as she doesn't or didn't do drugs or drink like many others. She doesn't party and hang at the mall for hours either. It took time but she finally found some like minded teens and now has a small group. Just be yourself and the right ones will find you, but you have to put yourself out there a bit too with smiles and hellos to kids you think you'd get along with.

There are lots of faces in the crowd just like yours. The popular people are easy to notice - that is why they are popular! But they aren't the majority, so everywhere else you look there will be people just like you who want the same things you want - someone to notice them, enjoy their company, exchange ideas, and develop friendships. Start by noticing those people, they may be looking out for you, too.

D.H. said "I can relate to this topic as I myself was once a teenager that faced the same situations, one piece of advise I can pass onto you is "Stay The Course", be that leader you were always meant to be not a follower. It is great to hear you are not into the drugs and or drinking at your age, It seems more and more people including teenagers are turning towards drugs and alcohol.   One doesn't need to have a large social circle as sometimes all it takes is that one special dedicated friend that you can always rely on.   Sure it is nice to be popular and to be that person, but at what cost. Be yourself and stay true to yourself and everything will work out. All the best. "

Thank you for your comments as its nice to hear from someone else besides family  

CrazyCanuck said "Hi, I'm a teenager new to this area and was told about Ebrandon. So I thought I would take my chances to ask you all for some friendly advise.   I find myself asking why I can't be that "person", the one who is popular, gets noticed, is asked my opinion or advise on issues.   I have asked my parents about the things I am going through and as always they have been very supportive, down to earth and very understanding. I just thought I would reach out to maybe some people that have also faced or are facing the same issues I am, I guess you can call them "Teenage Issues".   I don't smoke, drink or do any kinds of drugs as some of kids my own age due, yet its those people that i see as being "popular", I know I am very approachable, down to earth, and fun to be around.   Any suggestions, opinions or words of advise would be greatly appreciated.     Thank You "

I want to Thank each and everyone of you for replying to my post on ebrandon, I was not sure if I was going to post anything but was encouraged to do by family so I can have a view from people outside the box.  
It is really nice to read all you have posted and from now on I won't hesitate to ask for your ebrandon's input again.  
 
Once again Thank You very much

Flutterby said "Popularity is not worth those things you mentioned. If a person needs those things in order to be popular, they are setting themselves up for trouble and/or a hard life at some point, sooner or later.     It sounds as though even though you may have doubts sometimes, that you are confident and level headed. Those are fantastic traits to possess!     I agree with the above poster...stay your course and try to excel...build on who you are. It is better to feel good about yourself and your choices instead of having regret and better to maintain respect from others because of good character than have to figure out how to get it back.     I was very different from those around me, just as you are. It is very good to be different. Teen life is hard, but if you can get through all that pressure in those years, you can do pretty much anything.     As D.H. said...stay the course. The world needs more good leaders and those who are willing to be different. "

There is nothing with being different, going against the grain or just being yourself.  
I was and am the same way, i have seen people "try to fit in" and have seen their life spiral. Life is a journey enjoy the ride.