Gossip and Relationships

Hello, wow you are gorgeous! Has anyone ever told you how absolutely beautiful your eyes are? Well whoever has the privilege of getting to look into those eyes every morning is incredibly lucky. And if you haven't found that special someone yet, don't lose hope! So today my family and I went to a friend's house for dinner and afterwards I was listening to the adults' conversation on gossip and relationships. They began by talking about a marriage that had just ended and how one half of the partnership was blindsided by the break up and how devastating it was for everyone involved; family and friends. Getting a divorce, I have learned, is a complicated, scary, emotional experience. There are financial issues, children to worry about, social awkwardness, and possession battles. Now, being 15 and barely part of the relationship/gossip/teenage drama loop in high school, I didn't really understand the mature concepts that they were discussing, but the whole time all I was thinking was "Wow, it never stops, does it?" In high school, there is always talk about who's dating who, and who's 'wheeling' with who, and who likes who, and who just broke up with who. It's very confusing. I thought that once we got past the hormones and all the "figuring out who we are" crap, it would be a lot less complicated. You find the person you want to be with, you find a career you're happy with, maybe have some kids if you're up for it, and then grow old together. Now, you may be thinking to yourself right now "How stereotypically, close-minded she is." And yes, you're right. You don't need a significant other to be happy. Being single definitely has it's perks. But, being a hopeless romantic, I look forward to finding someone and having that fairy tale wedding and spending the rest of our lives together.

Another topic of conversation that I had the privilege of listening in on, was gossip. One of our friends that we were visiting is an emerg doctor and from her stories, which are always entertaining as she is a great dinner-party-story-teller, I learned about how little the gossip of the adult world changes from the teenage world. Apparently at the hospital there are suggestive looks, and secret conversations, and little cliques that some people are a part of and some people aren't. I know you know what I'm talking about. At this very moment, as you are reading this you are thinking about the people at your school, or class, or place of work, or planet, or other social gathering, and all the gossip that goes on. Am I right, or am I right? Now, I won't be the first to admit that I'm not really a part of it all. I don't notice if people are giving me 'suggestive' looks, or if people are talking about me, or if someone likes me. I usually find out two people are dating, after they've already broken up! I like to think I'm pretty intuitive about how people are feeling and what they're thinking, and I've been told I give pretty good dating advice, but all the superficial, shallow gossip that teenagers are so into does not appeal to me. Neither does the drugs or alcohol, or excessive partying, now that you mention it. So maybe I'm not the typical teenager. Adults are wrong to stereotype teenagers as being rude and disrespectful and hormonal because adults can be that way too. Just on a generally more mature level. Teenagers take everything to the extreme, and have a tendency to overreact. We feel things more strongly, but as we grow older those social tendencies, like gossiping and relationships, never really go away. We just learn to handle it differently.

Interesting what you learn when you listen to your parents' conversations, huh? So next time you're at a family dinner party, pay attention! You might gain some enlightening insight into the adult world that, if you are a teenager reading this, you will soon be joining as a VIP member. Also, please don't be scared by what I've told you. Adulthood is an exciting, wonderful, stressful, chaotic, complicated experience, I'm sure. Okay, that didn't sound as encouraging as I'd hoped it would... Just take life one day at a time! Enjoy the relationships you have now, always be open to new ones, and stay away from the hurtful gossip that could get you in trouble. Sincerely, Sam