Don't Be a Heather

          Are you the person who tries really hard to fit in? Are you the person who leaves friends when someone better comes along? Are you the person who then goes crawling back to them when someone better comes along? If you answered yes to any of these questions then you are a Heather, a character from the novel Speak, a no good, superficial meanie who cares about popularity more than anything else.

Heather bases her friendships on her own ulterior motives. At first she is worried about not fitting in and goes to Melinda for help. In the beginning she seems very nice and friendly (All smiles and rainbows if you know what I mean) always wanting to hang out with Melinda and trying to help her have fun and live life. But as the story progresses she gives up and starts talking to another group of girls named the Marthas. She starts talking to Melinda less and less unless she needs to ask for a favor. (The Marthas always put her up to an impossible task and she had no one else to turn to for help) Finally, Heather decides to stop all communication with Melinda. She states then she doesn’t want to be friends with someone like her that always wants to sit around and do nothing. Heather stops being Melinda’s friend just when she needs one the most. But sure enough, Heather can’t live up to the Martha’s expectations and they kick her out. With no one else to turn to, she crawls back to Melinda like nothing ever happened between them. Heather treated Melinda terribly, and hoped she would forget all about her wrongdoings when she wanted to be her friend again. Heather's ulterior motive is to make sure that she has at least one person at her side. 

If you are just like Heather, then you could also be classified as a Quinn. Quinn is from the TV musical series Glee and she is also all about fitting in. Even though she likes Glee Club the best, she usually chooses cheerleading over it to be popular. She is worried that she will get treated badly because she enjoys Glee Club. Quinn is, like Heather, a meanie. She pretends to hate her Glee Club friends in order to keep up with the social status of their school. Then, after the rest of the students are gone and it is just her and the others in the club, she is friends with them much like Heather with Melinda.

Whether you want to be called a Heather or a Quinn, it doesn’t really matter because they are the same. No good, superficial meanies that strive to be popular more than anything else. They manipulate people into thinking they are their friend, then turn around and push them away when somebody better comes along.
 Don’t be a Heather.