Dear Dish-It: I'm A Loner

Are You A Loner?

Dear Dish-It,

For most of my school life, I have been a loner. In Grade 3 I became friends with someone just so I wouldn't be lonely. But she wasn’t as loyal to me as a true friend should be, leaving me alone at recess almost all the time and then asking if she could come over to my house after school. Now that I’m in Grade 7, I have actually started hanging out with the other girls in my class. They’re really nice to me but I'm starting to wonder if they just feel sorry for me? I’ll never know for sure unless I ask them about it, but if I do, they may be offended. Can you please help?

PartyGirl847

Dear PartyGirl847,

In my opinion, the friends you have made in Grade 7 are really your friends. They don’t pity you or feel sorry for you. They actually, genuinely and sincerely like you and want to hang out with you.

The problem here isn’t anyone else – it’s you. Not that you’re a bad person or anything – you’re not. But I think you have a low opinion of yourself – something called low self-esteem.

I think the best thing to do in this situation is to believe in yourself more. Think about all the good things there are about you – including the fact that you can be and are a great, true, loyal friend. Why would anyone not want to hang out with you and spend time with you? You’re a great person!

The more you believe this and other good things about yourself, the closer you’ll become with your new friends and the more good people and friends you will attract into your life. Start liking yourself more, and I guarantee other people will like you more and more, too.

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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