Learning from past problems
I was talking to friend of mine and often times this kid we know named Elliot often comes up in conversation. Well this friend seems to dislike Elliot because of his excessive flirting and loopiness. A mutual friend has told this friend that he should take the flirting as a compliment. Besides, I don't seem to find anything wrong with Elliot, he's pretty much what I look for in a friend. Someone who's goofy and flirty and is competitive in gaming. He finds Elliot to be a lunatic and when he said that I asked him to elaborate on "lunatic" and he said that Elliot is probably gonna be one those kids who shoots up the school. It kinda upset me because I was talked about in the same manner. I have talked to Elliot on a sorta personal level and he said he had been to a mental institution because of some problems he and I, like Elliot would've probably been in the same situation when I was 14. I didn't have many friends in middle school and when I tried being friends with people they would give me the cold shoulder and say hurtful things to me. Unlike Elliot I wasn't very open about my sexuality which is probably one of the reasons I was such a loon. I told this friend to give Elliot a chance. It's not like it could hurt. Everything characteristic he described of Elliot fit me in one way or another. If he were to be one of those kids who ended up shooting up the school it would only be because nobody gave him a chance. I see so much of my 14 year old self in him. It's kinda cool, because I can relate to him on so many different things. Hopefully, I can get through to this friend and he'll learn to accept Elliot for the wacky basketcase that he is. lol