Dear Ask Mace,

There is a person in my neighborhood who “was” my friend, but now I am worried that she is telling my sister things that aren’t true. And now I have no idea of what to do.

From,

Anonymous

Dear Anonymous,

Thank you for writing in, and I’m sorry this is happening to you. Just know you’re not the only one who is experiencing this. It’s really hard to understand why people bully each other. Just know that we’re all different and that’s what makes us great. Here is my advice. I hope it helps!

If you think she is being rude and telling lies, try to confront her. Tell her how you are feeling. If she is, then tell her you don’t like it and ask her nicely to stop. If you never speak up for yourself, she will not know how you are feeling, and therefore she won’t stop. If she continues to tell lies, don’t start telling lies about her. It will only lead to chaos.

Try sitting down and talking to her and ask her why she is doing this. Just by talking, you can change a lot. Fighting about it is not the right way to go. Think about what you did to your friend that might have led to this, and how bad it was.  Maybe a simple thing might have challenged your friendship, but all problems can be solved. 

Thank you for writing in!

Good luck and best of wishes,

Ask Mace

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