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Best Friend?

I always come home looking sad. It's because my best friend is always being mean to me. Sometimes in my mind i say I hate her even though I don't mean it. Once she ran of with another friend and they left me to play on my own. I have talked to my parents and teachers about but the things they told me don't work. When she really hurts me i cry and when i come home i tell my mum that I wanna go to another school. Now its the summer holidays i'm happy i have 6 weeks away from her. Please help and is she really my true friend?
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Sam

Hi there,

Thanks for your message. I can hear that you’ve gone through a difficult time recently with your best friend. It doesn’t sound like this friendship is making you happy. It sounds like it is actually making you feel quite hurt and sad.

Perhaps you could take time to think about the type of friendship you would like to have. Some friendships are fun, others are more serious, but they should always be caring and respectful. A friend is someone you should feel comfortable spending time with. You asked if this girl is really your true friend. That’s hard for anyone but you to decide, but from what you’ve told me, it sounds like you don’t enjoy this friendship. You said that she’s run away and left you on your own, and that she’s hurt you. Neither of those things sound kind or respectful to me.

Well done for talking to the adults in your life about this. It’s good that they have been able to give you advice. It sounds like trying to make the friendship better hasn’t really worked for you so far. Perhaps spending six weeks apart from this girl will help you decide whether you want to have her back as a friend when you start school again.

If you decide that she isn’t your true friend, you might want to spend time with other people in your school instead. It’s worth thinking about how you might meet new friends. Sometimes joining a local youth club or taking part in sports or after school clubs can be a good way of meeting new friends.

Have a look at the information about Friendships in Explore. You can also visit the Friends message board to see some advice from other young people. You might also like to have a go at our Friendship Quiz to find out what sort of friend you are yourself.

ChildLine counsellors are always here if you want to talk some more. You can contact them through email, 1-2-1 chat or using the freephone number 0800 1111.

I hope this helps.

Take care,

Sam

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