Popularity, the way I used to see it, was the pretty girl or the star quarterback. They were the people everyone looked up to, the people you wanted to be like. I believe popularity today is completely different.

Popularity in 2023 is being known. You don’t have to dress a certain way or play every sport. You can be the “nerd” or the “theater kid.”

I think Spring Hill is redefining popularity to our own definition. We’ve had a “band kid” win Homecoming king two years in a row. This wasn’t even meant to be a joke, they were the name on the ballot that the majority of the school knew. Years ago I don’t think this would’ve been the case. Those guys deserved the win, they were some of the nicest people you could’ve met, not just a guy who could throw a football.

The winter homecoming ballot this year was amazing. It wasn’t “the big, popular friend groups” on the ballot. It was a group of kids from so many different clubs and groups of the school. There were candidates from sports, band, theater, and some who weren’t necessarily defined to a group. I think this gave students, especially freshmen who may not know all the seniors, a guarantee to know at least one name on the ballot.

The direction popularity has taken today is amazing. I love seeing interaction between each diverse group of students. It’s not just a basic interaction, it’s a positive one that both parties enjoy. I think we’ve been able to look past the stereotypes we’ve grown up with and it’s made the school, and the surrounding areas, a better place. I’m not sure what popularity looks like in other schools, but at Spring Hill we’ve got it all figured out.