Girls’ Life – July 2019

46 GL AUGUST | SEPTEMBER 2019

Dear Embarrassed,

Forgive yourself. Accidents happen, and

everyone messes up. You didn’t mean to

do it and you apologized and you were

forgiven. So you’ve suffered enough. It

was an honest mistake and I’m sure you

learned to be extra careful—with big

bags and in general. So, deep breath and

onward, and I swear your stomach will

untwist. If there’s something extra nice

you can do for that artist, do it.

TWEENAGE TROUBLES

I’m 11 and recently got my first

period. From a 1 to 10 scale, I’d rate

EMBARRASSED

The other day in art class, I was going

to slide my bag across the floor but

instead I sort of accidentally tossed

it, causing it to land on someone’s

artwork and break it. A few other

people saw it, and so did the teacher

(thankfully, he wasn’t mad at me).

It was awful. I yelled, “I didn’t mean

to do that!” and apologized to the

person who made the artwork. She

forgave me, but I can’t get over this

twisted feeling in my stomach. It’s

killing me. I feel really bad for break-

ing a beautiful piece of art.

Dear Can I Date Her Ex?,

Sounds like you and he are already having

fun getting close without crossing any

lines, so enjoy your friendship as it is in

the present. As for what’s ahead, some

say that all’s fair in love and war, but I

think you’re right to be mindful of the

triangle here. Maybe your friend will start

dating someone else? Or you’ll bravely

ask if she’ll forgive you if you and he start

dating (and she’ll thank you for asking)? By

the way, if he had broken up with her, this

might be trickier and more gut-wrenching.

FRIENDSHIP TROUBLES

During the past year, my friend has

changed. She’s gone vegan and is

obsessed with this one guy. She’s

becoming really self-centered, and it

seems like I’m the only one keeping

up the friendship, and it makes me

sad. She doesn’t know that I feel all

these things.

Dear Friendship Troubles,

It’s time to speak up. Try starting with,

“Let’s talk about...” or, “I want to tell you

about....” or, “This weekend I...” or even,

“I don’t mind hearing all about your crush,

but I get frustrated when you don’t seem

to want to hear about my feelings.” You

also can try to start conversations about

music, books, art, TV, sports, news. In

short, you’re right that it’s not fair or

good for a friendship when one person

does all the yakking. I hope you can help

her change and I hope you can get closer

with other girls.

Carol

Dear

BY CAROL WESTON

CAN I DATE

HER EX?

My best friend just broke up

with her boyfriend. I have

always had a tiny crush on

him because he is my best

guy friend. We have been

talking a lot now and I think

I am starting to like him

more and more, but I can’t

like him! What kind of friend

am I if I go after my best

friend’s ex-boyfriend?

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