THE FAKE FRIENDS FIASCO

 

Have you ever had one of those high school moments when you think you have it all figured out, only to realize that you've been completely fooled? There was this day in particular that summed up what it felt like. it all started with my two "besties" whom I was close to, or so I thought.

We were always hanging out, texting, and
making plans and everything seemed pretty solid. But after a while, I noticed that I was often left out of plans and conversations. it was subtle at first, just little things like looking at each other and giggling when I walked by.

The real wake-up call came when I discovered that they had been talking about me behind my back. A friend of mine, not in the friend group had spilled the beans that my so-called "besties " had been making jokes about me behind my back.

When I confronted them about it, they were quick to deny everything, playing it off as misunderstandings. Their defensive reactions were like a bad acting class- way too exaggerated and over the top. I eventually decided to ditch them, it wasn't worth the stress or the fake smiles.

After I had stopped mixing with them, I began to see all the flaws in them that I hadn't seen before. I couldn't believe that these were the friends who I had been hanging out with, one who enjoyed distributing curse words and the other who enjoyed making everyone feel bad about themselves( both of them do this). I couldn't believe that I had ever had a close relationship with them.

Looking back now, it's almost funny how much time and effort I had put into maintaining friendships that weren't real. Those moments taught me a lot about genuine friendships and how to avoid getting tangled in the drama of fake friends.

Here are five signs that you've got fake friends:

1. The "You're not invited" drama: if you're often left out of plans or conversations, it's a pretty good sign. Real friends include you not exclude you.
2. The Jealous factor: if they seem to get irritated or remote when you succeed or have something good going on in your life then chances are they might be more envious than supportive
3. The dramatic denial: when you confront them and their reactions are overly dramatic or exaggerated then you're probably dealing with fake friends.
4. The "Can I ask you for a favor?" test: if they only reach out to you when they need to ask you for a favor then they're probably just using you.
5. The Whispering: if they always seem to be whispering and giggling whenever you're around then it's a sign that they're probably gossiping about you.