Sorry to hear about the struggles you’ve been facing at school. It’s understandable that you’d want to fit in, have friends that you can trust, and enjoy going to school. But it sure makes it difficult to enjoy school when others are calling you names or talking about you behind your back.

Have you tried talking to a teacher or the school counselor? The name calling is definitely characteristic of a bully and I’m sure bullying is not tolerated at your school. If you haven’t already, consider reaching out to a school staff person to help squash the name calling. A school counselor can also give you advice on other school related stressors.

Although other friends may seem to be turning on you, you’re lucky to have two trusted friends. I’d strongly encourage you to leave behind the name-callers and backstabbers and devote your time and energy to the two positive friends. And hey, it’s not too late to make new friends.

If you haven’t quite found your niche of people that you really cliques with yet, that’s ok. Consider joining a new club or activity at your school to meet new people. That way you can meet others that have the same interests as you. Or you could be really bold and join a club that you never imagined yourself joining and just dive right in! Either way, there are probably lots of activities in your school to get involved in. You could also consider volunteering your time to a community organization to meet people outside of school. Not only will this provide you with an opportunity to meet new peeps, but it will also allow you to give back to the community.

Continue to be true to yourself and if others continue to talk about you, just take the high road. We can’t control how others act or what they say (although it’d be nice if we could!) but we can control how we act. So try to rise above the negativity by focusing on bettering yourself and making connections with positive people.

Best,

Jessie, Crisis Counselor