"It didn't make me cool, but an old friend of mine (we're no longer friends) was far cooler than me. Why? Because he didn't care about grades, was openly hostile to authority, smoked weed all the time, had a criminal record, and generally just had that "I don't give a f@#k, I'm a bad@$$" confidence.

That's cool in high school. Nowadays, though, that guy is thought of as being very uncool. Why? Because not caring about your job performance (the adult equivalent of not caring about grades), being openly hostile to authority (such as your supervisors, or the cops), spending most of your waking life stoned, having a criminal record, and somehow still thinking you're a bad@$$ definitely isn't cool in adulthood."