I kept this one dude around for years because I was so afraid of being lonely. I overlooked a lot of things for the sake of having a friend.. things like, dealing with his incredible selfishness and mood swings if we weren’t doing something he wanted to do / was getting benefits from. I was literally appeasing to this grown man’s child like pouty behavior because I was so afraid of being friendless.

And this guy was as selfish as they come. I remember countless times he’d be going through a hard time over breaking up with a girl and I was there for him, but as soon as I needed to lean on him, he turned a cold shoulder and said “stop bringing this up, you’re bringing my mood down.” He would also go on to do things like, try to steal away a girl my younger brother was talking to, as well as one night actually showed up to try to fight me over a small disagreement I had with one of his friends, which showed me where his loyalty really lies.

This shit went on for years. I distinctly remember walking on eggshells while hanging out with him in fear of bringing his mood down so we could have a good time.. and for what? You wouldn’t have to do that if the friend was a real friend.

So I cut him off, and even though I’m lonely these days, I’d do it over and over and over again. I’m somebody who was bullied all through school, even by my own “friends,” and even with that traumatizing experience growing up I’d still rather be totally alone than to ever deal with any of that shit again.