Let’s start by saying I’m a high school student, and so inevitably I deal with a lot of drama. It happens in people of all ages, but it’s at its worst in the teenage years.

There are plenty of reasons why people resort to theatrics: for attention, to feel superior, to feel part of the group, for power, and sometimes even for revenge. But I think many keep drama and gossip in their lives for one prime reason: sheer entertainment. Some people might not have the guts to admit it, but that is how it works.  

Subconsciously, people think they need drama. They need to talk about what a girl said about another girl or that some guy is going to fight another. But are options for conversation really becoming that narrow?   Case in point, recently some kids at my school were having a tough day, and the drama spread like a natural disaster. I attend a small school of about 250 kids. So if you’re not actually in the storm, you’re somewhere near it. People were just itching to catch any bit of debris that escaped the gale. I went into the bathroom and there were about seven girls having a hate chat about someone. When I got back to class, people asked what they were saying. I held my hands up apologetically and said, “It’s not my business to say.”

A sad reality is, it’s never going to stop, even after high school. Not everyone grows out of spreading rumors. Some say we might as well accept it as a part of life. That may be valid advice, but it’s also possible to do something about it. A good start could be simply ignoring the gossips completely, letting the theatrics go. Someone says something terrible about another person; you can just let it go in one ear and out the other. Find something else to talk about. It’s never a good idea to go to the next person and say, “Oh my gosh, guess what someone just said!” If people see that you’re uninterested in hearing about pointless and sometimes hurtful gossip it might inspire others to do the same. It could also spare you some unnecessary turmoil in life.

If everyone did their part, high school could be a completely different experience. So I invite you to try it out. Drop the drama at the door and see what it does for you and people around you.

Ashlee Twiford is a sophomore at Burchell High School.