BS Truths!!!

 I stopped being her audience, so naturally I became her next topic. I had a friend who seemed to know everything about everyone. Who was fighting. Who was offended. Who had changed. Who had supposedly said something about somebody three Tuesdays ago. She had updates nobody requested, opinions nobody assigned, and enough unofficial reports to operate a small intelligence agency. At first, I’ll admit it: it was entertaining. Most gossip doesn’t enter the room wearing a name tag that says, Hello, I am toxic and will eventually ruin this friendship. It arrives as a funny story. A private update. A harmless little “Did you hear what happened?” You listen, you laugh, and you convince yourself that you’re simply staying informed. Except this wasn’t staying informed. This was a subscription service—and eventually, I wanted to cancel. When the Gossip Stopped Being Funny The problem wasn’t that she occasionally complained about someone. We all do that. Friends annoy us. People make ...

Their approval isn’t life support. Let them dislike you in peace. Breaking News Someone doesn’t like you. That’s it. That’s the emergency. Maybe it’s a coworker who acts weird around you. Maybe it’s a relative who tolerates you only because leaving the family group chat would cause questions. Maybe it’s someone you barely know who has already decided you are not their kind of person. Rude? Possibly. Life-changing? Calm down. You do not have to spend three working days investigating why. You are not customer service, and their dislike is not a complaint ticket you are required to resolve. The Story When I was younger, there was a girl whose parents were friends with mine. Our families spent time together, so we often ended up at the same gatherings. I had no problem with her. I also had no reason to believe she had a problem with me. We weren’t close, but I had never fought with her, insulted her, spread rumors about her, or done anything that should have made me an enemy. Then someone ...