I looked back and signaled my friend to come over. She kneeled by my desk as I cupped my hand to point to the girl sitting two seats in front of me without anyone noticing. “Look at Chicken Nugget’s shirt,” I said, being careful to use her codename.

My friend laughed, “Her shirt is so ugly it makes her frizzy hair look good, it’s no wonder that no one’s asked her to the dance!!”

“Amen,” I said, but as I mutter that word, a cloud of guilt cluttered my head.

Most teenagers know what I’m talking about, gossip. Gossip is wrong on so many levels. It’s a series of statements that may or may not be true which are said in secrecy behind one’s back which are used to hurt them. Each word is like a stab to their back, which they never see coming. This may sound like an exaggeration, but think about it.

Gossip can ruin a persons life, and the person can remain totally oblivious to everything going on around them. So, WHY DO WE DO IT?! If this question has an exact answer, I’m not sure. Often, people who gossip I don’t think fully understand the consequence of their actions, I don’t think they mean to totally destroy the person who they are talking about, but I guess that’s how gossip works.

It starts with one person who tells another, who tells another, and so on until you get something like this, “Guess what I heard!!”

“What?”

“Well, Kenny told Roger, who told Stacy, who told Jaime, who told Kevin, who told me that Rachel’s boyfriend is going to dump her because she has elephant feet.”

These people probably didn’t realize it, but they were destroying Rachel’s life by telling just one other person, so when it comes to gossip, don’t let it spread. THINK, because you have the power to make a difference.