Every girl wants to be popular, right? You want to be liked by as many people as possible. But popularity is about being fantastic, not plastic! Here, we lay down the myths and truths about popularity so it all makes way more sense.

Myth: Popularity is about looking a certain way.
Truth: Be active!
Being popular is not about how you look, what you wear or which handbag you carry. If you want to get to know a lot of kids who are into the same things as you are, get involved in lots of activities. Join a club. Try out for a sport. Audition for the school play. If you’re hanging out in lots of different circles, you’re going to get noticed. For sure!

Myth: Being popular means acting like the cool kids.
Truth: Be yourself!
When you do start circulating, be sure you’re signing on for stuff that genuinely interests you. Don’t go out for basketball or run for class treasurer just because you want to hang with a certain group. Do it because it’s something that really gets you stoked!

Myth: Popular girls always run in exclusive cliques.
Truth: Be friendly!
OK, some girls tend to run in groups from which they exclude others. But gals like that are actually insecure and are trying to give off the illusion that they’re better than everyone else. If you want to be well-known by lots of different kids, never act like you’re too good to be seen with anyone in particular. Show that you’re open to being friends with anyone who’s nice and fun to be around.

Myth: To be popular, you have to follow the pack.
Truth: Be confident!
If you’re acting like a clone, you’re not being true to yourself. Know who you are, do what you like and develop your own personal style. Nothing makes you stand out from the crowd more than giving off a vibe that screams, “I’m unique, and I’m proud of it!” Do it fearlessly. Imagine it’s like ice-skating: When you’re afraid you may fall, you usually look klutzy. When you skate with confidence, you glide along with grace! And so it is with popularity.

Go-to resolutions -- like stepping up your fitness routine or getting better grades --- are cool and all, but you’re gonna have to get a little more creative if you want to make 2011 your best year yet. Print this list out and tape it to your bedroom wall, then watch your year get more and more awesome as you check each one off!

1. Learn the Constellations
Stargazing just got a whole lot easier thanks to a super-cool app called Star Walk ($2.99 for iPhones and Androids). Just hold your phone up to the night sky and the app’ll find all the constellations for you. 

2. Shoot a Music Video
Gather a few of your girls and rock out to your favorite tunes -- while a digital camera records the results. (Just switch it to movie mode first.) Voila! You have an MTV-worthy vid that’ll make Lady Gaga look lame.

3. Meet a Real-life Author
Since writers do book tours whenever they come out with a new read, it’s actually really easy to meet one. Just check the events calendar at your local bookstore or public library to see when one of your faves is going to be in town. Then take your favorite book of theirs along so you can get a personalized autograph!

4. Start Your Novel
Now that you’ve met an author, you can start working on your own book. Think of each chapter as a new short story and feel free to write them out of order -- it'll make the process that much easier, and it’s what tons of pros do.

5. Update Your Playlist
The coolest (and cheapest) way to stock up on tunes? Host a playlist swap. Invite your girls over and ask them to bring their CD collections. Then lay them all out in your living room and have fun chatting as you figure out who gets to borrow which ones to upload to their computers at home that night. Or, you can all bring your laptops to swap then and there!

6. Host a Wicked-cool Outdoor Movie Night
Pick a theme (say, Harry Potter movies or RPattz flix). Rent a couple of DVDs that work with it, take a laptop and a few blankets outside on a warm night, and prepare to have one very awesome movie marathon with a few of your girls.

7. Form a Club
Whether you want to get an anti-bullying group going or find a place to play Rock Band every Wednesday, talk to your guidance counselor to get it started. You can also chat with your parents about having meetings in your basement.

8. Feng Shui Your Room
According to this Eastern philosophy, you can boost your positive vibes just by rearranging your furniture. Get started by taking all electronics -- including your TV, computer and cell phone -- out of your room. Then, move your bed to a spot that’s not in line with any doors. (That creates a negative energy-flow.)

9. Discover the Best Takeout in Town
Instead of ordering in from the same spot every week (bo-ring!), ask the fam if you can switch things up. Create scorecards so you can grade each new restaurant on each dish you order. Soon, you’ll find the hands-down best spot. 

10. Hear “Love That Bag!” All the Time
How? By creating your own! Just buy a blank canvas tote and iron-on transfer paper from an art supply store. Then create a black and white design on your computer, print it out on a transfer sheet and have Mom or Dad help you iron it onto the bag. So cute!

11. Be Your BFF's Stylist
And let her be yours! Go shopping together, and then pick out a few outfits for each other that are way diff than what you two would normally wear. Then hit the dressing rooms and have fun modeling all of your new looks for each other.

What flix are lighting up the big screen in the new year? We’ve rounded up the best new films coming to a theater near you.

Movies to See With Your BFF
If you want to see a sappy love story, invite your best friend -- never a boy (unless you’re trying to repel him). Alice in Wonderland’s Mia Wasikowska is starring in two upcoming romances: Restless, a film about a terminally ill girl’s crush on a quirky boy who likes to hang out at funerals, and the classic Jane Eyre, which is based on Charlotte Bronte’s novel.

If you’re looking for more of a bonding chick-flick experience, go see Cracks. It follows the friendships (and the conflicts) between a free-thinking teacher and the students at an elite British boarding school for girls.

Movies to See With a Crush
Dudes like action! Adventure! Thrills! Superheroes! The Green Hornet and Sinbad: The Fifth Voyage are two of the most highly anticipated action-adventure films of the year. Get in line early -- it will give you two a chance to chat before the lights go dim.

Movies to See With Your Fam
If your siblings are tots, you’ll love watching these two animated films: Gnomeo and Juliet, a twist on the Shakespeare tale, and Rango, a flick about a chameleon (played by Johnny Depp) with an identity crisis.

Are your sibs more middle-school? Suggest a family movie night to go see Mars Needs Moms! It’s about a 9-year-old whose mom is nabbed by Martians. Or you can check out Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2: Rodrick Rules, which is based on the second book in the popular series.

Movies to See With the Crew
Up-and-coming English actor Alex Pettyfer stars in I Am Number Four, a sci-fi film that revolves around a group of Earth-bound teen extraterrestrials who are being hunted by another alien species. Beastly, a 21st-century take on Beauty and the Beast, is also coming out.

Vanessa Hudgens stars opposite Pettyfer in Beastly, but make no mistake: This is no Disney spin. Hudgens also goes girl-toting-machine-guns in the wicked Sucker Punch. We must say we’re impressed with the no-fluff roles Hudgens has landed lately. That should give you and your friends some good convo when you go for lattes after the film.

Mia Wasikowska Photo: Getty Images

Even if you and your sister constantly bicker, the relationship between you two has a major influence on you socially and emotionally -- in positive ways!

Sisters Chase the Blues Away
No matter what your age or how many years apart you are, a sister boosts your mood way more than brothers do. (Studies prove it.) Girls are natural caregivers and more willing to express their feelings -- major defenses against depression.

“Once, I came home from school feeling really sad because some girls were making fun of me,” says Leah, 10. “My little sister, Laurel, noticed immediately and said, ‘It doesn’t matter what they think. It only matters what we think.’”

Your Sister Has Your Back
Despite occasional sibling tiffs, if someone else messes with sis, watch out! “Sometimes, I wish my sister would back off when friends are over,” says big sister Leah. “But if my friends say Laurel can’t play, then I won’t play.”

“My old school had this crazy tradition where older kids teased kindergarteners during dismissal,” says Kelli, 14. “Every day, my big sister waited for me, and everyone knew not to mess with me.”

A Sister Will Inspire You
Sisters and brothers -- more than parents -- inspire kindness and motivate each other to overcome fears. Like when Kaitlyn, 10, coaxed older sister Tanaya, 13, onto the rollercoaster … or when Bella, 9, got sister Jill, 11, off the high dive.

Consider her your personal cheerleader. Singled out in ballet, big sis Jill was offered a dance solo ... but the drama was canceled. “I was so upset,” says Jill. “But Bella told me, ‘At least they offered you the part.’ And she was right!”

Says Tanaya about sister Rachael, 16: “My big sis really inspires me to get good grades. She studies really hard.”

Your Sister Brings out the Best in You
Some squabbling between sibs is normal -- and it teaches you to make up, cool down and deal with difficult situations. “Leah gets me really mad when she bosses me around,” says Laurel, 7. “But we always say sorry, and after a while it’s like it never happened.”

Sure, she’s annoying -- but there’s nothing like sisterly love. “Once my little sister tumbled head over heels down the stairs,” recounts Leah. “Mom wasn’t around, and Laurel ran over crying and grabbed me in this huge hug. Right then, I would’ve done anything for her.”

Friendships rock, right? But it’s not always rainbows and giggles when it comes to you and your friends. Tiffs happen. Here, we break down the deets of some typical bud battles. Then we give you some tactics for dealing before things erupt into a full-on blowout.

“My BFF doesn’t want me to have any other friends.”
“My friend Mandy and I were best friends since first grade,” says Abby, 13. “But then she got really mad when I tried to hang out with other people.” Thing is, Abby has a right to spread her wings on the social scene.

The real deal: Some girls don’t realize that friendship love doesn’t divide -- it multiplies. So just because Abby chooses to hang with other girls, it doesn’t mean she loves Mandy any less. She just likes someone else in addition to her. Get the math here? But if you value your BFF, you’ll assure her that she’s still important to you -- because what this is really about is her fear of losing your friendship.

“One of my friends thinks I like her BF.”
Ah, things aren’t always as they appear. Peyton, 14, can attest to that: “My friend Rebecca was going out with this guy Bill, and someone started a rumor that I liked him. Truth is, I didn’t like Bill. But Rebecca was being, like, all quiet around me and avoiding me.”

The real deal: Once Peyton got wind of the untrue gossip, she confronted Rebecca about it. “I just told her, ‘Are you going to believe some idiot, or are you going to believe me?’” Rebecca chose to trust her friend, and the two were able to smooth things over because they communicated about it maturely.

“I have this friend who competes with me.”
“My friend Courtney was on the softball team, and she was trying to teach me how to play,” says Katie, 10. “But whenever I got better at it, she would have to top me and say, ‘Oh, you’re not as good as me.’ It was so annoying.” Having a friendship throwdown is never fun.

The real deal: Turns out, Courtney didn’t even realize what she was doing until Katie pointed it out to her. “I said, ‘If you’re really my friend, you’ll let me be proud of my accomplishments without trying to beat me.’” Game over!