Everyone has a different goal in life.

To be a Broadway star.

To be an NFL football player.

To be a mother or a father.

However, everyone has the same motivation for reaching their goals.

A desire to be happy.

This is a huge generalization and very stereotypical, but it’s true.

The search for happiness is what drives (at least partially) all the decisions that we make.

Which brings me to the Blue Valley High School experience — 2011 edition.

When you walk down the halls of our illustrious school, you’re bound see lots of people. As you look at these people, your mind will most likely break them down into “cliques.”

The football players, thespians, band kids, artists, partiers, intellectuals and so on.

You might think to yourself, “Our school is so cliquey.”

Like it’s a bad thing.

And I guess, in some ways, it’s not ideal.

But in reality, it’s proof that everyone is just trying to be happy.  There is a common misconception that in high school no one acts like themselves. However, cliques are living proof that most people do.

A “friend group” is people who have things in common and spend time together because they make each other happy.

These people are being themselves and having fun — at least by their own definition of the word.

So who are we to judge what makes other people happy?

We don’t have any right to tell anyone their way of being happy is wrong.

Just because the goths, intellectuals and thespians find happiness differently than the football players does not mean they are superior or inferior.

Don’t hate on the theater kids because they role play in the hallways. Clearly, they don’t care what you think.

Don’t make fun of the intellectuals just because they think calculus is fun. There is something magical about finding an integral.

Don’t roll your eyes at the athletes because you think they get more glory than they deserve. They spend hours each day perfecting their game.

Most of these people are happy with who they are and who they are friends with.

Everyone else’s road to happiness might seem a little different than yours, but the root of all the high school cliques and drama is that innate desire to be happy.

So show some respect to your fellow classmates.

Get over the stigma placed on the word “clique” and realize it for what it really is — an expression of each student’s interests and goals and the people who share them.

And as you find your way throughout high school, as your interests change and you develop as an individual, don’t forget what you’re searching for.

Happiness.