Annie (AKA Hey Terra!) has been around long enough to have experienced a lot of what Life can dish out. But, it hasn’t been so long that she's forgotten what it's like to be your age. Check out some of the thousands of email questions teens from around the world have sent to Terra. You may learn something useful from her answers:
Rejection:
“My best friend is being so mean to me.”
Hey Terra,
This girl and I were best friends last year. Since she was new I really wanted to befriend her to make her feel welcomed. Our friendship grew stronger. This year, we're in different classes and she's changed immensely. She is hanging out with some really mean girls and she has a really bad rep. I have been trying to communicate to her that maybe we should keep trying to make this friendship work out but she's sooooo mean! I feel like I can't say "I don't want to be your friend" to her because I have seen her be nice and I don't want to lose her. But I'm also tired of getting hurt all the time. What should I do?Ready for Change
Dear Ready for Change,
You don't deserve to be treated this way. While it's true you've seen your friend's "nice" side, right now, for whatever reason, she's choosing to abandon that side. She's already shown you by her current behavior that the friendship isn't as important to her as it is to you. You seem like a very smart and good-hearted girl... My advice is for you to let her do her thing for now and you take care of YOU. That means reaching out to people who will treat you the way real friends are supposed to treat you.
As for actually communicating anything to her... I don't think that's necessary unless she asks why you aren't hanging around her or calling her any more. In that case, you can simply say, "I don't like the way you've been treating me." If she never asks, then say nothing and move on. Your path in life has no room for letting people be mean to you.
In friendship,
Terra
Need some advice? Write to Terra.
She'll give you a straight answer you can trust without any lectures.
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