Gossip is one of the most well-known facets of today’s society. From tabloids to your mom telling her coworkers about your embarrassing moments, gossip is an “essential” part of everyday human entertainment. It can be seen in scopes as big as reality television to as small as your inner friend circle. What most people notice though is how much it affects our emotions. As both a victim and spreader of gossip, I have come to the conclusion that gossiping creates so much unnecessary drama between people. It destroys reputations, friendships, and one’s self-worth. In other words, gossip is not fun.
Going to a small liberal arts school like Kenyon does come with some social consequences; gossip spreading quickly is the most prevalent one. I learned that I could not trust people, even those in my inner circle, to keep their mouth shut. One of my “friends” decided it would be okay to fool my other friends into thinking how I was a mean and unsympathetic person. What’s better than that you ask? My other friends believed that false story and turned on me, causing my spring semester to be one of the most horrible times in my life (of course that was not the only factor, but it was a significant contribution). Eventually, my friends came to understand the real story and “forgave” me. However, as for that friend who started all of the drama, I can easily say that we aren’t the best of friends anymore.
I thought all of the drama would be over and everyone could start fresh after the summer. But of course, life would be too simple and boring if there were no one to feed the drama monster. After the first weekend, an unspecified group of people began talking about my friends. While they think that we were not aware of it, they were wrong. I have never seen my friends so upset and stressed about their social situations. What really got me going is when they decided to bring me into their conversations. Me, a neutral person who is merely associated with my friends whom they were gossiping about. Certainly, it did not feel good at all. Some of those people I was friends with, and now I am unsure if I would want to be friends with people who will talk behind my back. How am I meant to trust people in this school?
Of course, there are a few people I trust and I know will never go and gossip about me or my other friends. Those are the people who will support you and who deserve to be your friends. Going into college, I thought that gossip would not be something I would have to worry about. I was never involved in it during high school which made those times smooth sailing. As I head into the inevitable “sophomore slump,” the last thing I need in my life is people who consistently bring drama into my life. Life is not worth gossiping about other people. I used to gossip, but now I’ve learned that it is not worth losing friends. Creating drama that can easily be avoided should not be something people need to worry about. If we can’t learn from the fabulous hit TV show, Gossip Girl, then what’s the point in even gossiping.