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142 The Teen Survival Guide to Dating and Relating
a brokenagreement. You might feel confused, hurt, and maybe even a little wor-
ried that something bad happened to your friend. Assuming nothing bad hap-
pened, what should you say when you see your friend next? If your friend rarely
breaks agreements, a simple apology and an explanation is really all you need.
But some people break their word almost all the time. In fact, some people
can hardly ever be depended on. Even if your friend means well and offers a rea-
sonable excuse each time an agreement is broken, you’re getting the message
that you just can’t count on this person. When you continue trusting someone
who’s untrustworthy, you’re in for regular disappointments. Someone who con-
sistently breaks agreements isn’t a real friend.
When agreements are broken, it’s your responsibility as a friend to tell the
person how you feel. Find out what happened and work together to make sure
things are handled differently next time. When friends discuss problems as they
occur—instead of letting hurts, resentments, and a lack of trust build up like a
pile of junk under a bed—the friendship becomes stronger and both friends
grow in positive ways.She didn’t get me a birthday present
Hey Terra,When a best friend promises to do something, she ought to do it, right? And if she breaks
that promise, maybe she isn’t such a great friend after all, right? This happened to me when
my friend promised she’d get me a gift for my birthday and didn’t. It’s not that I care all that
much about the gift, but I feel really hurt that she broke her promise. I’m kind of disappointed
since she told me that the thing she was going to get me was so cool.GiftlessDear Giftless,Tell your best friend how you feel. She might not even be aware that you’re disappointed. And
unless you talk to her, you won’t find out why she didn’t give you a gift. Perhaps it’s a money
issue, or maybe she’s having second thoughts about how cool the present is and doesn’t want