real life

Women share what the cool girls from their high school are doing now.

Everyone knew at least one cool girl in high school – either you were the cool girl – or you spent your school days observing the IT girl, trying in vain to replicate her cool girl ways.

What makes an alpha female varies from school to school, city to city, but they all have this one thing in common – they somehow innately know they’re cool and they understand what their coolness can do for them.

They’re the Cher Howitz, the Rizzo, the Blair Waldorf of your school. Sometimes they’re mean girls, often they excel in everything they try their hand at, and they’re always at least a little bit rebellious.

The cool girls from my school were getting drunk at parties and sneaking into clubs, while I was still having sleepovers and trying to bleach my hair with Sun-In.

cool girls high school
"They're all mums with wealthy husbands living on the North Shore." Image via Universal Pictures.
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But have you ever wondered what happened to the cool girls after high school? While most of us mere mortals hope the cool girls peak in high school and go on to live miserable, boring lives - the reality is much more of a mixed bag.

We asked cool girls and non-cool girls what the alpha females from their school were up to now. The consensus was that the cool girls from the country left school early, started a trade, and settled down with their high school sweetheart or another local guy they met at the pub.

"Maybe it's because I'm from the country but a lot of them left school in year 10 and are now hairdressers and beauticians with 2-3 kids and really settled down. It's like they got all their wildness out their system early."

"Most of the cool girls from my school turned out to be much nicer adults. They left school early and started working and having kids much earlier than me, and now they seem to spend most of their time posting photos of their kids on Facebook. I feel like once they left school and were faced with the harsh reality of adulthood, their coolness probably dimmed a little."

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While a lot of the cool girls from the city ended up in the ultimate cool girl career - public relations.

"The girl in my year who was probably the most beautiful has had work done. Others do unspecified job that seems to make them a lot of money (I think PR)."

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"They're all mums with wealthy husbands living on the North Shore."

"They all work for Australian fashion labels, go on wine tours every weekend, take perfect candid pics at said wine tours, also go on perfect insta holidays together to Bali etc."

Others said their perception of the cool girls has changed since leaving school.

"We had our 10 year reunion this year and it was great to see all of the labels had been forgotten (by most)," one person wrote.

"I think coolness is about perception. Looking back, a lot of kids thought the bong smokers were cool as they didn't give a shit whereas as others really looked up to the sporty kids who were nice to everyone and just oozed colour and life. The types of cool kids actually carried this through to adult life and the expectancy of what they would do is very cliched and predictable - the bongos stayed in our home town, had babies and married other bongos. They haven't worked much and their education stopped at the school gate. The sporty cool kids went on to become teachers and physios and entrepreneurs. Some are married and others not just yet."

cool girls high school
"I feel like once they left school and were faced with the harsh reality of adulthood, their coolness probably dimmed a little." Image via The CW.
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While a self-confessed mean girl, who's remained cool throughout her adult life, says she's proud of her alpha girl status.

"I was one of the cool girls at school and definitely a mean girl. One girl came up to me at the five year reunion and said I made her life hell. Another said that when she went to uni my words rang in her ears - 'I only pick on you because you won't defend yourself. As soon as you defend yourself I'll stop because it'll be too much effort'. So when she was at uni she decided not to take her mums advice of ignoring bullies, but took mine instead and defended herself, and she was all the better for it," she writes.

"I know I'm delusional in thinking that I helped people be stronger, I'm sure in reality I gave a few people complexes and fodder for the shrink. I've always felt like I have nothing to prove to anyone else just myself."

What are the cool girls from your school up to now? 

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