Friends :(

[hotpinkshoelace]

It is so frustruating, like when I need my friends the most (now) they aren't there for me. I have just been really depressed lately, because well i am going to be getting my brace next week, and well I don't want it. And well like my two best friends are MIA. It just really sucks. One of them I can't even get ahold of, and when i finally did, a few min ago, she was like you should stop depending on me and Laura so much. I just wanted to scream at her that when ever she needs me I am there for her, but when ever I need her or laura they aren't there. Same thing happend when i needed someone to go with me to do my birthday shopping (my dad gave me $200 to go shopping with if i didn't have a party, not a hard decision) neither of them would go with me. I had to go with my dad. Not that much fun. I mean I even showed them a picture of what my brace is going to look like, and told them how I felt about it, but neither of them can make the time for me.

[Du Hast]

Ya I know how that is. They never talk to me and think I'm a freak or somthing but hey if you need to talk to me.

[Ciera]

I'v Had My Brace for 5 years!
If you have any questions Please ask me I Will try to help I Am 11.
You know I Used to have a Friend just like that!
But even thow She would be egnoreing me and hanging out with my one other friend I Still had a hard time Giveing her up but I Just found more friends and tried to not be mean to my other x-friend!Try to get along with other people that you've mabey kindof been hanging out with and invite them over or something?


Ciera,!

[dare2care2005]

I know how that is. I had a few good friends whom i thought i could "depend" on, but they just weren't that way. I also have seizures and lost alot of my friends when they found out. They would make it like they were having seizures just to get me upset. Also, whenever the teacher was out of the room, some kids would get up and start flickerng the lights on and off to see if they could provoke a seizure. I do get teased because of my scoliosis as well. you can really notice the curves because my shoulders are lopsided and i walk with a limp. My mom is going to call a doctor on Monday to see if anything can be done, so that's good news. I told what friends i have now (i'm not going to a public school anymore. i dropped out last year and enrolled into a homeschooling program) and let them know what's going on. My best (i should say ex-best) friend had the guts to tell me "Well, Ginny, why are you always coming to me for support? don't you have other friends to run to? that is just way too pathetic." I just felt like crying. i mean, isn't that what a best friend is for??? to be there for you when you need someone?? I was there for her when her mother died back in '02. she needed someone, and i was the first (and probably only) friend to step in. the least she can do is be there for me. i'm not asking for much. just a little friend-to-friend support. it just goes to show you, people can turn on you.


Ginny

oh, and Sarah, if you want to email me, my addy is dare2care2005@yahoo.com -OR- liveit_giveit908@hotmail.com

[dare2care2005]

there's one other thing i want to say. it may be best to not tell your friends about your brace

[Alison]

I think the hardest thing for friends is that they don't understand what its like to wear a brace. Or they're too afraid to ask you things about it and that its easier to simply call people a "freak" or brush them off. The telling/not telling people can work for and against. It can work for because they can help you with it in Gym Class, and are simply aware of it. But it can also be easier not to say anything until they ask "what's that funny thing under your shirt " :-), because often people don't notice things because they focus on your face, not the funny "bulges"

Unfortunately, people do tease. Sometimes they tease for "fun" (what evil people grrrr), they sometimes also follow the "teasing" crowd, because they are afraid that if they don't they'll get teased as well.

In difficult times, such as having to wear a brace for the first time, you often learn who are your "real" friends who will stick by you through anything and accept you for you, and who are "coffee" friends, the people who won't stick by you, and don't accept you for you.

Best wishes

Alison

[ANIMAL LOVER12]

your friends

Hello,
I am twelve years old and I wore a brace for about 5 months. Even thought that is onlt a short time I learned all the wonderful thrills of wearing a brace(not)One of these was friends. I really had no problem telling my best friends what it was. They all stayed with me and just told me how sorry that they felt for me. Iwore my brace in the sixthgrade(* I'm in the seventh now) constantly grade eights would come up tome and ask what was that thing under my shirt. People found it amusing to tap me on the back to see if I could feel just for their own entertainment. They knew I couldn't feel it. One girl found it amusing to drop a pencil in the top part of the brace very well knowing i couldn't feel her do it and would get one ot two people to laugh at it and of courdse I wouldn't know what they were laughing at. This was one of the reasons I didn't like wearing it. I cried just about every night when I had to put it on . I knew tat the next would mean more questons and that girl doing the same thing. The pencil thing happened for a week before my good friend stepped ina nd told her she was stupid and was amking me upset. I never remained friends withthis girl but with the friend tha tstepped in i'm still friends with. hotpinkshoelace if these friends aren'yt there for you I'd rcommend finding some other friends because they aren't friens

[Hadley]

omg! who really needs friends like that?!?! the best advice i can give you is to get better friends! well...that sounds awful but if i was you i would tell them that if they couldnt stick by me during my rough times then there was no sense in being friends at all. and thats stupid.....you can tell youre friends that you have a brace, its actually not that big of a deal. ive had my brace for almost a year now and duh i told all my close friends! and for the most part, none of them thought it was too big of a deal. my bestestest friend really stuck through for me. shes always there to talk about it when i need her! well....not all my friends were so perfect though. one of my many best friends last year always liked to try to be better than me. shes super pretty and a total flirt and i guess we were always unconsciously competing with eachother. not alot of people besides my best friends even knew about my brace. people cant tell i wear it...if you pull the straps tight, you can wear totally normal clothes...just longer shirts. and its not like you always have to wear it. but anyways..back to the story. any time we'd be around a really cute guy or someone i totally wanted to impress shed tap on my brace and go OH ARE YOU WEARING YOUR BRACE?!? WOW! THATS SO COOL! and tap on it some more till the person was like uh...what are you wearing? and shed be like oops. hadley, can i tell them?! im sorry! please can i tell them....so more people would know. but im sooooo not friends with her anymore. friends like that just arent worth it. lifes too short to waste. and if you ask me, dropping friends like that helps soooo much. when you have better friends, youre happier and when youre happier...guys notice you more and more people want to be friends with you! hah hah hah! yeah...so....anyways. if you want to email me, if you have any problems.....you totally can.....nosittinonsteve@yahoo.com is my email adress. ----hadley (9th grade, 14 years old)