Here’s a headline: Teenagers have problems and don’t always know how to solve them! 

Surprise, surprise, I know, but it’s true. With so much constantly changing and evolving it’s a given that young people are constantly dealing with issues they aren’t really prepared for. That’s why I took it upon myself to advise anonymous Ipswich High School students on their biggest problems.

Before I get into these issues I just want to reiterate that these are all anonymous.

Issue #1 (PARAPHRASED FOR CONVENIENCE)

 “Dear Tiger Transcript, recently I have been having some trouble with my two friends. We have been best friends for 3 years and do almost everything together. Lately though, they’ve been excluding me from stuff and acting differently towards me. Whenever we talk they usually respond in short sentences or ignore me all together. I’ve also seen them post about hanging out just the two of them and when I ask why I wasn’t invited they just say they ‘thought I was busy.’ I have no idea what caused them to start acting like this. I hate to think they don’t want to be my friends anymore but with the way they’ve been acting it’s hard to think it’s anything else. How should I handle this? Talking to them hasn’t done much but I can’t just ignore it. What do you think?”

Response:

Dear student, let me start off by saying I’m sorry you have to deal with this. I know how scary it is to think you’re losing a friend. I think the best course of action here is to sit down with your friends and say pretty much what you just said to me. Laying it all out in front of them will force them to give you answers. It may end with you guys not being friends anymore but that’s better than just hanging onto them and stressing yourself out more.

Issue #2 (PARAPHRASED FOR CONVENIENCE)

“Dear Tiger Transcript, I want my friends to break up. Don’t get me wrong, I love the two of them, but ever since they started dating they have been awful. They aren’t compatible at all and are seemingly always fighting. The worst part is they won’t tell each other what’s wrong! They use me as an in between, so not only do the problems affect themselves but they also affect me! It’s so draining talking to them. It’s always, ‘he did this and I’m mad’ ‘She did this and won’t apologize.’ It sucks because if they would just talk to each other I’m sure they wouldn’t be so mad all the time, so what do I do? Should I just stop letting them vent to me? Should I keep being an outlet for them? Or should I tell them what I really think and just hope they take my advice and break up? Thank you for your help.”

Response:

Dear student, I can’t imagine how exhausting it must be to act as their middle man. They definitely are not good friends for putting all of that on you. Personally I’d just stop letting them vent to you. It doesn’t do anyone any good and maybe without you there to act as a buffer they’ll be forced to talk to each other which is clearly what they need to do. High school relationships are all about finding out what works and what doesn’t, and the sooner they learn to communicate the better.

There you have it, a peek inside the personal lives of two high school students. Were their problems as exciting as you’d hoped? Or were you let down by the melodrama of it all? Has this article made you exceptionally mad? Do you have any problems not related to the school newspaper? Then the Tiger Transcript Advice Column is here for you! 

(Only during the school year though and honestly this is just another teenager trying to solve your issues so take my advice with a grain of salt. Also I’m leaving in three weeks so this may not even happen again next year, but we’re here for you!)