Dear Dish-It, I Made One Of My Friends Upset

Rumors Always Hurt

Dear Dish-It,

I made one of my friends upset and now she won't talk to me. I asked this guy if he dated one of my friends just to see if the rumor was true and he said no. I told my friend what happened and she got upset with me. I apologized to her in an e-mail but she still won't talk to me. Oh Dish-It, what should I do? It’s been like this for a few days now. Please help me!

Minnie-mew

Dear Minnie-mew,

Well, it sounds like you learned a valuable lesson from all this – mind your own business and try to keep your nose out of other people’s problems! I know that when you tried to clear up a rumor you had heard you were probably just trying to help your friend out, but it sounds like it backfired and blew up in your face. That’s the trouble with rumors – they always end up hurting someone.

If you’ve already e-mailed your friend trying to explain to her what happened and apologizing to her but haven’t received any reply, then it may be time to try a new approach. E-mail is definitely convenient but it can often come across as cold and impersonal, especially between good friends.

If I were you, I’d try talking to your friend in person. Ask her if she can set aside some time to speak with you. If she agrees, then decide when you will meet and, when you do, let her know you were only trying to help, that you’re truly sorry about what you did, that you didn’t mean to hurt her feelings or make her feel upset and that you miss her friendship. Also make sure you tell her you’ll never butt into her business again – and stick to that promise!

So, ya gotta burnin' question? Need some love directions? Thinkin' 'bout stuff like depression, sex,how ya feel 'bout YOURSELF (that's called "self-esteem"), boyfriends, girlfriends, losin' old friends, bullyin' or peer pressure, but too scared to ask the parents? Don't be scared to Dish-It here. Send all of your questions to deardish@kidzworld.com But 'member, if ya hang out in Chat with other Kidzworld members who know ya by your 'username', ya might wanna use a secret nickname when ya write in. That way no one'll ever know it's you. And, just in case ya don't know, Dish-It gets a lotta letters everyday, and she can't answer 'em all. So keep checkin' the column cuz she's prob'ly answerin' somethin' very similar to your question while you're out doin' somethin' else. K? And Thanks! Ya keep her outta trouble. Oh! And if ya've got words of wisdom you wanna share,We'll dish 'em up, too.

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