Intro to Gossip
To anyone who’s reading, Hi, I’m Annette. I’m a 16 year old girl who lives in NYC. I’m blessed with a nice life and a great mom, and a crazy high school. My school is small, with 200 kids in the entire school. Of course, that means things like drama spread fast. Everyone, in every grade, knows everything. If you have a secret, telling even your closest friends is your biggest mistake, because it will be in everyone’s ears and mind by the next morning. In some ways it makes school more fun, because there’s always something to learn about someone or something to hear about. It makes school a real soap opera that you live in, and it’s exciting. Yet, it can also be the most painful thing to someone. Rumors are spread, and though it may be fun and exciting for the people hearing about it, the person you’re talking about or hearing about might be in serious pain. Trust me, I’ve been on that short end of the stick, and it kills you.
My experience with rumors is constant. As I said before, since my school is small, words travel fast, and people get bored all the time and love to cause drama. One moment I like someone, the next I hate someone because they are friends with my friends. The strings of rumors never end, and I have had some experiences with rumors and people talking behind my back that have been, to put it mildly, destructive.
Now, I’m much better. Some of those people realized their error, as well, which I was lucky for. Many times, however, they don’t realize what they did is wrong until it’s too late or until they’ve graduated, and victims of this stuff remind destroyed and broken. However, I pulled through. I found new friends, I talked a lot to my guidance counselor, and I talked to my mom. I found people who didn’t care about what was happening, and trusted what I had to say. Rumors can really, really hurt people. Many and most people will be on the bad end of them in their high school careers. When you’re hearing things, try to keep them to yourself or at least to people who you know won’t go out of their way to spread information around, if you must get it out of your system. When you’re being talked about, find people who will support you. Talk to your parents, if you can, or your guidance counselor. At the very least, find friends who will support you through it all. You will get through it, just like I did. Now my junior year rules, I have amazing friends, and I’m happy beyond belief.
