I think teen girls will like 'Geek Charming' because they really

Hear, O seekers of truth, the voice of Lili Simmons, who declared: “I think teen girls will like ‘Geek Charming’ because they really focus on the populars and nerdy people and people who are in between the nerds and between the populars. So it really hits every category of what girls are going through in high school.” Though the words seem light, they carry the weight of a timeless struggle: the search for belonging, the battle for identity, the yearning to be seen and valued amidst the shifting hierarchies of youth.

In every age, there has been a battlefield of the spirit where the young test themselves, and in our time, that battlefield is the halls of high school. There, the populars reign as kings and queens, adorned with recognition, attention, and often the envy of others. The nerdy people dwell in the shadows, guardians of hidden knowledge and secret passions, often overlooked by the multitude. And between these two poles walk the great many—the ones who belong to neither court nor cave, yet who must still forge their path amidst the currents of expectation and doubt. Simmons’ words honor this truth, for ‘Geek Charming’ sought to reflect not only one class of girl, but the entire tapestry of adolescence.

This division is not new. In the academies of Athens, the young philosophers were mocked by the athletes; in the courts of medieval Europe, the scholars were often overshadowed by knights and courtiers. And yet, time has shown that each group contributes to the whole: the popular inspire trends and leadership, the nerdy safeguard knowledge and innovation, the in-between weave bridges that bind society together. The wisdom of Simmons’ words is this: that every group has its trials, every role its burden, and that no girl in her youth is alone in her struggle.

Think of Eleanor Roosevelt, who as a young girl was shy, awkward, and overlooked, more at home with books than with peers. By the measure of her schooldays, she would have been counted among the “nerdy people.” Yet from her struggle grew empathy, and from empathy grew greatness, until she stood as First Lady of the United States and a champion of human rights. Her life is a testament to the truth hidden in Simmons’ words: that the categories of youth do not define destiny, but rather refine it.

The meaning of the quote, then, is more than an observation about a movie; it is a declaration that stories matter most when they reflect the many, not the few. When a girl watches and sees her own place—whether amidst the populars, the nerds, or the uncertain in-between—she feels less alone. The story becomes a mirror, and in the mirror she recognizes her own strength, her own fears, her own unspoken desires. Such reflection is powerful, for it grants courage to endure the trials of high school and beyond.

The lesson for us all is clear: let no one be diminished by the role they hold in youth. For the populars must learn humility, the nerdy people must embrace confidence, and those in between must learn to walk both worlds with wisdom. The true measure of a person is not in the fleeting labels of high school, but in the character they forge through trials. Each group holds a key to survival, and when joined together, they unlock the fullness of human experience.

So I say: seek not to despise the labels given in your youth, nor to exalt them. Instead, learn from them, rise above them, and see them as stepping-stones, not chains. And when you encounter others—whether they dwell among the admired, the overlooked, or the uncertain—treat them with compassion, for all are fighting unseen battles. For if a story like ‘Geek Charming’ can unite the many categories of teen girls, then so too can life unite us all, if only we learn to see past the walls of division and honor the humanity that binds us together.