How to Be Cool and Popular in Sixth Grade

Co-authored by Evanne Torrecillas

Sixth grade can be a tricky time for everyone, whether you're at the top of the food chain in elementary school or the bottom of the social radar. If you want to be cool and popular, it's all about acting like you're already cool, boosting your confidence, and waiting for the world to catch on. Just follow these steps and you'll be on your way!

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Looking Cool and Popular

1
Get a wardrobe that looks great on you. Remember, clothes don't have to be brand-name to be cool and make you look good. Some great stores to try are Aeropostale, Roxy, Old Navy, Forever 21, Hollister, AGACI, Rue 21, American Eagle, River Island, Target, Walmart, Brandy Melville and more. Remember to get clothes appropriate for your age. Don't copy anybody's fashion style because then people will think you're a wannabe or a poser. Here are some things to keep in mind as you find the perfect clothes for you. If your school has uniforms don't worry, just remember to accessorize.
- It's okay if you mix clothes together and make things trendy in a unique, 'you'-kind-of-way to show off your own style while using just the tiniest bit of copying from someone else, like layering jewelry.
- Mom jeans are in style. But remember,baggy jeans look great on some people, but not everyone. Boys shouldn’t avoid baggy jeans unless they want to go for that particular look.
- Distressed jeans are in and you can make your own! Get help from an older sibling or cousin who can help you not rip the holes straight across, but blend them. Before cutting up your jeans, you can practice on fabric, experimenting with fraying and cutting. Learn how to "ladder" jeans.
- Sweaters! Cardigans are in style, as are lightweight v-neck sweaters with a tank top for girls.
- Polo shirts aren't nerdy if you wear them right, so it all depends on how you look and how you wear them! Try a simple polo with skinny jeans and shoes like Converse or similar.
- A plain polo in a basic color is nice. If you want to get a polo, though, get some from Ralph Lauren or Lacoste. Ralph Lauren is known for their polo shirts. If you can't afford polo shirts from these stores, Abercrombie, Hollister, Ardene and Aeropostale always have good ones. Polo shirts may not look good on girls that have breasts, and are often form fitting, showing where the top of your jeans may have a muffin top.
- Hoodies are essential according to some. They go with almost everything! Make sure the hoodie is a good fit, but baggy and loose can also look cute with skinnies. Girls can wear a sweater and skirt combo.
2
Accessorize. Accessorizing is important, but don't overdo it. Long necklaces are cool. Earrings, studs, are good too. A big trend is mock Ray-ban 1 color sunglasses, which can be bought at Claire's or Icing. Wide brim hats and fedoras are always a good choice. If you go to a school that has uniforms, don't push the limit because you might get in trouble.
- Get some new shoes. Some good choices are Heelys, Nike free-runs, Converse, Sperry's, Reeboks, and combat boots.
- Boys can wear a watch that goes with their personality. It could either be a sports watch, a formal one, one with leather strap etc.
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3
Keep your look natural. Girls, just use some lip balm or gloss, and some mascara, eye shadow (light ones work). Using thick eyeliner or foundation will make you look fake. A light amount on your skin can conceal zits or dark under eye circles. Some concealer has built in acne medicine. You can go natural sometimes, too. Make sure you ask your parents before starting to use makeup, if you want to try it.
4
Take good care of your skin. Wash your face once in the morning and right when you are about to go to bed at night with a cleanser that's ideal for you.
- If you end up with a pimple, do not squeeze it, because this can lead to a little dent in your skin called a pockmark that lasts years after the pimple is gone. There is a special tool for removing pimples and blackheads with a loop on the end.
- Before doing this, or even washing your face you can fill the sink with warm water, put a towel over your head, and lean over the sink. The steam will open your pores, helping acne wash penetrate.
- Try putting liquid cover-up on, and after it dries put some powder cover-up on. Washing your face more than twice a day will dry out your skin, making it scaly and flaky, and will cause more acne and then you'll have a bigger problem.
5
Consider getting a manicure. Giving yourself a manicure works as well. You can go to Target and get $2 nail polishes and inexpensive nail sticker sets. Beauty schools can have trained students do manicures for $5 instead of $20. Also, you can go on to YouTube and learn how to do any design on your own.
- Again, if manicures aren't your thing, you do not have to go out and get them.
6
Be clean. Brush your teeth twice a day, use mouthwash, and wash your hair as many times a week as it needs. Don't go crazy on the styling products. Look for a hair styling cream that comes in a tub, not a big squirt bottle if you are a boy. If you are a girl all you need is bobby pins, combs for your hair type, rubber bands, headbands, and a light hair spray. If you want a different hair type you can buy straightening or curling irons.
- Greasy hair isn't exactly attractive, so be sure to wash it regularly!
- Make sure that if you have braces you get clear bands! But with clear bands make sure you don't eat something that can stain them.
7
Get a stylish look. Try a hair cut that suits your face shape and personality. You can add a fun color streak in your hair. Side bangs are good too.
- Layered hair is a classic style for longer hair just like straight hair. You curl your hair at home. Straightening can damage the scalp and hair, whether done permanently or with an iron. So, try to minimise the chemical and stick to more healthy options.
8
Have a stylish school bag. Messenger bags come in all styles and colour, and it can be unisex too. Or you can go with a stronger structure, most backpacks offer. They are carried on the back so it doesn't hurt as much as a shoulder bag. They come with water bottle holders and outer pockets, a thing most messenger bags do not have. Kipling backpacks are in.
- Tote bags are stylish for girls. But if you have a long way to walk, a backpack with a lot if books that goes on your back is the best choice. If you ride or walk to school you will need a backpack with two well-padded shoulders.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Acting Cool and Popular

1
Make other people feel important. This is key if you want to be cool and popular. If people think you think they're important, they will want to spend time hanging out with you. If you seem like you're only obsessed with yourself, then no one will want to be around you. Here are some things to do if you want to make other people feel special:
- Listen to what people are saying, and respond to let them know you were paying attention.
- Ask people lots of questions to show them that you care.
- Make the conversation about other people, not just yourself. Don't just brag about yourself. Make sure to ask about them too.
2
Treat other people with respect. Being popular doesn't mean acting like you're in Mean Girls -- sure, that can get you some attention, but that kind of act can get old, fast. Instead, you should try to be nice to people without being fake, so that they feel welcome around you. Here are some things to keep in mind:
- Avoid gossiping whenever you can, or you'll have a reputation as a gossip and no one will trust you.
- Don't compete with other girls at school. It'll make you look desperate. If another kid wants to compete with you in popularity, dating, or style, say "No. I don't need a contest to prove I am good."
- Never be phony, or pretend to be friends with someone you don't like.
- Be sympathetic and show empathy when someone narrates a painful experience.
- Compliment someone on their hair, clothes, shoes, backpack, etc. when they look good or when you feel they need it to cheer up.
- Be respectful to everyone, including teachers, your friends, and other kids.
- Be cheerful, natural, and outgoing. Create a balance between work and entertainment.
3
Be nice to members of the opposite gender. If you're a girl, don't show affection to a guy you like by being mean to other guys, or he'll become afraid and not want to ask you out. Also, do not play hard to get. It turns a boy off even though T.V. shows make it look like it turns him on.
- You don't have to be nice to every person of the opposite gender but don't be mean to people you like because you think it's flirting, either.
- If you're not ready to like people romantically or to try to date people, don't worry about it. You'll know when it's time, and there's no need to rush.
4
Don't be afraid to talk to new people. When you feel alone and like you have no friends or maybe you do have friends but they're just not with you at the time, just say hello to someone. After a while of doing this and starting conversations with people, you'll have a lot of friends.
- Try to talk to some popular people and maybe invite them to a party or just to hang out. Try not to look desperate to become popular while doing this.
- Do not leave your old friends behind just to be popular.
- Treat everyone equally and treat others the way you would want to be treated.
- Try to make a lot of good, trustworthy friends.
- Don't reveal too much about yourself. Keep people wondering.
5
Let people see you having a great time. If you want to be cool and popular, then you can't look desperate, or like you're always trying to hang out with the cool kids or waiting for people to come up to you. If you act like the life of the party, people will think you are. Even if you're at the party and are talking to someone who you don't really like so much, if you try to make the most of the conversation, laugh, and look like you're having a great time, then people will think, there's a person who is always having an awesome time, and they'll want to come up to you, too.
- This doesn't mean you should be completely fake. It just means you should be absorbed in what you're doing instead of always wanting to be doing something "cooler" or "better."
6
Build your confidence. Being cool and popular isn't just about looking that way, but it's about feeling cool and popular too. To do this, you have to be confident in who you are and know that you have something to offer to the world. Work on loving the person who you are and embracing the life that you have instead of wanting to be someone different. This can take years, but you have to make an effort to truly love yourself instead of just having others love you.
- Being confident doesn't mean thinking you're perfect. In fact, being aware of some of your flaws and the things that you can improve will make you an even more confident person.
- Being confident also means having confident body language. You should keep your head high, look straight ahead, and have good posture so that you look comfortable with who you are.
7
Stop caring about what other people think. Truly popular people are so happy with who they are that they don't try to please other people. If someone makes fun of your clothes or something you do, don't change your outfit or stop doing it. Instead, embrace who you are and learn to shrug off the jealous haters. It's okay to ask for advice when you're lost, but you should avoid doing what other people say just because you think it'll make you cooler.
- If you're popular, then you'll be able to set the trends, not try to follow them.
- Of course, it's impossible to stop caring about what people think overnight. But you have to make an effort to be your own person to get started.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Getting Involved

1
Accept others. Just like you, other students may have doubts and issues too. All they need is to be accepted. Treat people the way you want to be treated. If you truly want to be cool and popular, don't be mean to others. Being popular is about others liking and looking up to you.
- If someone wants to be your friend, don't push them away or avoid them. Instead, try to be friendly, and see if they're a good friend to you. And if they're not, then get busy with your work or tell them, so they know they hurt you.
- Don't ditch your BFF just because some "popular" kids think your friend isn't cool. In the right time, try to show them how caring they really are.
2
Be active in the classroom. You don't have to be the teacher's pet or the most involved student to get noticed a bit. Be friendly, participate, and don't be a complete class clown. If you're silent in class or only talk to the one person you know, then you won't get noticed. You want people to see you and think, at least, "Oh yeah, that girl is in my English class..." You have to make some kind of an impression if you want to be popular.
- If you have a lab partner or do group work, be friendly and nice to the people, even if you don't think you have much in common.
- You don't have to raise your hand every two seconds to make other students notice you. Just participate when you have something new or helpful to say. Give others a chance too.
- If you have a test coming up, see if you want to form a study group with a few people. That can be an excuse for you to socialize a bit more.
3
Try out for a team. Joining a team sport is a great way to meet new people and to put yourself out there. If your school has team sports, great. If not, joining a rec team can help you get to know even more people. Being part of a team can also help you know how to work with others and will get you more comfortable with a variety of people.
- You don't have to be the most athletic person in the world to join a sports team, either. You just have to have some drive and the desire to learn something new.
4
Join a club. Clubs are another great way to meet more people and to try something new, especially if joining a sports team isn't for you. If your school has clubs, like the newspaper or yearbook, joining one would be a great way to meet a variety of people interested in different things. The more people you know, the more popular you will be. It's all about getting to know as many different people as possible, not just sticking to the same six "cool" people in your school.
- If you join a club, remember that it's the fact you enjoy the club's activities that will attract other people to you, not the fact you have joined the club. Show enthusiasm and share your passion with others so they get enthused by your enjoyment and want to be around you.
- Joining a club can also help you find something new that interests you, which will boost your confidence and make you feel like a more dynamic person.
5
Get involved in your neighborhood. Hang out with the kids in your neighborhood, help out your neighbors, and spend time hanging out outside instead of spending hours trying to improve your image on Facebook. So what if the kids in your neighborhood are a little older or younger than you or they go to a different school? Hanging out with as many different people as possible will make you a more open person and will make you look and feel more popular.
- If there are older kids in your neighborhood, then they can help you build your reputation, too -- being popular in the sixth grade doesn't mean only talking to sixth graders.
- Try to share what you learn, when it could help them. As you learn, you will find others having a hard time dealing with something you could help. Be open to help and don't expect immediate popularity. Sometimes, you have to just do whatever you could for others and treasure the memories.
6
Be more social. To be popular, you have to get involved in more social activities. Accept invitations to parties even if you won't know many people there and get to know them. Throw parties of your own and have a pretty wide variety of people in your guest list. Go to the mall and movies with your friends on weekends instead of hanging out at home. And if events like school dances or other after-school events come up, make a point of being there.
- The more people get used to seeing you out, the more you'll become a part of the scene. You don't have to be the most popular person at the dance or at the mall to get to know more people and to have a great time.

Warnings

Stay away from drugs at all costs. If the popular kids are doing it, stay away from them. and report them.

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Helpful 46 Not Helpful 4
Middle school is a time when cliques start to emerge. Even though they shouldn't, people will judge you according to your appearance. Just ignore them. They're not worth your time.

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When you go to report bad things you have witnessed or heard, it is best to do it anonymously so you don’t get hurt verbally or physically.

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If the "cool kids" are mean and ditching you, they're not worth your time. Being yourself is the best way to become popular.

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Helpful 35 Not Helpful 4
Don't be pressured into doing anything you truly do not want to do.

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Boyfriends are unnecessary, you can survive 6th grade without one. It's normal to have a crush in 6th grade but don't get overwhelmed with it. Do not kiss!

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