Opinion: Is Being a Wimpy Kid Better Than Being Cool?

With the movie version of Jeff Kinney's best selling "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" hitting theaters today, we have to ask: Which would you rather have -- a popular kid or a wimpy one?

In many ways, we don't get to choose. Some of the characteristics that allow a child to climb to the top of the school social ladder are physical, such as athletic ability or great hair. As parents, we try not to be overly concerned with such trivialities because we're all grown up now and realize how inconsequential it all is.

Still, for our kids' sake, it helps to remember how it felt to be told that every seat in the cafeteria is "saved," to recall the daily torture that is P.E. (particularly for those of us who might be lacking in the musculature department) and the never-ending quest for social identity.

"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" gets the horrors of middle school right, bringing those memories roaring back with the force of a leaden mystery meatloaf.

As the story goes, Greg Heffley is very focused on the pointless pursuit of popularity. He hopes to be immortalized in the yearbook as a "class favorite" -- Most Likely to Succeed, Best Dressed, Class Clown. These desires lead to some poor decision making, such as not talking to a particular girl, Angie, because doing so would be social suicide. He is also, as his best bud Rowley tells him (in the movie, not the book), a "bad friend," although he does somewhat redeem himself in the end.

For his part, Rowley is a good-hearted goofball. Angie hides under the bleachers during P.E. reading Allen Ginsberg. None of them wind up at the top of the social food chain, but they have each other. Even the losers, as Tom Petty sang, get lucky sometimes.

So, that brings us back to the question of which do you want, a popular kid or a wimpy one? Popularity fades, but individuality is timeless. Albert Einstein wasn't exactly Big Man on Campus but he turned out all right. For a more modern take, Lady Gaga says she "felt like a freak" in high school, and that her act is designed to help fellow freaks feel less alone in the world. If she happens to be making millions of dollars while doing so, good for her.

The best advice in the movie comes from Rowley's mom, who told her son to just be himself and people would like him. Greg tells Rowley that would be a great idea, if only Rowley were someone else. But Greg is wrong -- despite being overweight and doofy, Rowley reaches the top of the popularity ladder by listening to his mother, while Greg sulks and attempts to make his friend miss him by having a sleepover with the bizarre and booger-wielding Fregley, who makes Lady Gaga look like Phyllis Schlafly.

Of course, no matter how much we tell our offspring otherwise, they may never believe that being popular in middle school is meaningless, that good friends are more important than the social order of the cafeteria and gymnasium. But that's just part of being a kid.

And, as we grown-ups know, even the cool kids don't have it figured out, either.

Jeff Kinney's "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" books have sold 30 million copies to date. The latest in the series is 'The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary'. The movie is now in theaters.

Related: Diary of a Wimpy Kid