Gossip: The Poison Ivy of High School

There you are, enjoying your lunch when the whispers of "Did you hear about Sarah and Jonathon," reach your table. As hard as you try to ignore the whispers, you just can't. You jump right into the conversation and attempt to straighten these gossipers out because you are, of course, best friends with Sarah and know the entire truth. But wait- isn't this gossip? Aren't you just going to fuel the fire? Certainly.

We typically think of gossip as a rumor or report of an intimate nature. However, this textbook definition only begins to define gossip. Gossip is a destroyer, a heart-breaker, a way to completely diminish a friendship. Gossip is the poison ivy of high school. It's something that everyone knows to avoid, something you don't want to go around but sometimes it's impossible to escape from. At some point in your high school career, you will catch the poison of gossip. Sadly, the instant you involve yourself in gossip it consumes you, much like the instant you scratch poison ivy, it spreads to more areas of the body. The more and more you get involved, the faster and faster the gossip spreads, leading to the downfall of you, your trustworthiness, and your friendships. And then you are left with a scar, much like that of someone who irritates their poison ivy far beyond the extremes. This is something that no one wants, so find that calamine lotion and try your best to ignore the annoying desire to scratch before it's too late and your scars become apparent.