Friday, October 20, 2006

Being 15 all over again

It's really kind of weird for me to be feeling like I did when I was 14, 15 years old.  If anyone else was like me, you always had the feeling in high school that you weren't quite cool enough to hang out with the popular kids.  Maybe you were poor and couldn't afford the "in" clothes, or perhaps you were too chubby to be accepted by the cheerleaders.  Maybe it was your unstylish car, or that your parents were religious freaks who kept you locked up at night.  For whatever reason, I know that there were a lot more of us misfits than there were of the "cool" kids.
 
Here I am in my 30s, and supposedly a fairly put-together kind of gal.  I thought I was beyond feeling the hurt and insecurity that can come with nonacceptance, but I was wrong.  No matter how old you are, someone can say or do something that wounds.
 
For me, it was discovering that people I considered friends... well, don't really like me.  It was a staggering realization.  I mean, even though these are Internet friends, and not the in-person friends who know me inside and out, it still hurts.  And I really feel stupid-- just like I did when I was 15-- for caring what people think of me.
 
I guess it's really that, I DON'T care what everyone thinks of me.  But I do care what my friends think, since they are the ones with whom I share my life.  And to find out that people that I considered friends don't actually give a flip, well, there's a ball of anger and hurt roiling in my belly.  But that's okay; I'll do what I always do:
 
"No, no, dear; we don't talk about those kinds of things; it's just not done.  You keep smiling, then talk about how heavy her biscuits were when you get home."
 
You just gotta love old-fashioned Southern repression.

3 comments:

charlotte said...

I'm sorry someone you thought was a friend turned out to be a jerk. For me it goes back to 6th grade, and man was that a rough time. I think you are just spiffy, and whoever was mean or flippant with you can eat shit.

What happened?

Oh, and Ewan is totally humpable.

Anonymous said...

I was that kid too in school, I have always been the black sheep of whatever group and I just think it is fine with me. If people don't like me is because they don't get me. What helps me is to always ask myself who the comment is comming from and believe me, that does it! Are they put together? Are they normal or loonie? So, they can say whatever they want, I just pretend to listen, but butter all over my body (and mind) and let it slide!
I have developed a thick protective skin as a result!

Anonymous said...

Oh, sorry, that last one comment was mine, I am commenting anonymously because Blogger decided since I converted to BETA I cannot leave messages if you don't upgrade to BETA too.
Demeter