When Cress Delahanty wants to be elected freshman editor of her yearbook, she makes a list of traits needed to win the election.
Her mother asks her, “Traits like honesty, kindness, cheerfulness?”
Cress replies, “Nobody at school I ever heard of was popular for honesty.”
So she develops a plan: become known for something quirky. In “Trademark” by Jessamyn West, from Cress Delahanty, Cress decides to 
develop her trademark by doing strange things like wearing her slippers to the bus and leaving her sneakers in public places to be found.
But her plan backfires. Instead of becoming popular, she becomes known as crazy and a character.
In Gene Stratton-Porter’s A Girl of the Limberlost, the main character becomes popular by accident because she is genuinely interested in her classmates and townsfolk.
In the world of real people, Betty Cornell, a former teen model, wrote a book in the 1950s titled Betty Cornell’s 
Teenage Popularity Guide, in which she gives advice on what to wear, how to act on dates, and how to host a party. You can read more about this book here.
Now it’s your turn: Select from the following options.
- Write a list of traits, habits, or qualities that make people popular.
- Or make a list of what you think it takes to be popular with your crowd.
Then choose one item on your list and explain it in a paragraph. Give examples.
Note: Even if you do not think that being popular is a worthy goal, you can still complete this prompt.
Cress Delahanty book cover courtesy of goodreads.com
Betty Cornell’s Teenage Popularity Guide book cover courtesy of librarything.com
