Journal #31

We are high school students; therefore gossip is a huge parts of our lives- even if we do not want it to be. Personally, I try and not include myself in any unnecessary drama and the gossip that goes along with it. But of course, this is quite hard to do. Being a teenage girl, we talk a lot. A lot of that time we talk about other people, and that is all considered gossip, not harmful gossip- but still gossip the same. This is harmless. There is no spreading of vicious  rumors or saying things about people's personal lives. This discussions are more like, "Hey, did you know so and so got a A on their test?" or, "I bet that person over there knows what happened in class yesterday!" Harmful gossip is anything that can hurt someone else's feelings. Talking about peoples families or their relationships are examples of things that people should just not talk about. Stuff like this should be private, and kept to themselves. Basically everything that we discussed in Spoon River is stuff that you should not share with other people because it is not your business. I try not to gossip because its not something I want to spread around the school, but its hard because almost everything is gossip in some form. Good gossip, like I said earlier, is beneficial and helps spread good messages where you go. Talking about who good someones performance in the talent show was, or how much you admire someone are just two of the many examples how gossip can be good. Bad gossip, on the other hand, are lies, or something you say with the intention of hurting another person or a group of people. This is what everyone needs to avoid. If we lived in a good world where there was no gossip, and everything people said had a positive impact, life would be good. Hopefully we can reach this goal, if everyone tries.