Game of telephone
They talk, I writeLiana Sabnani, Opinions Editor
High school: the breeding ground for rumors, drama, and, of course, your average immature hallway fights. One minute, you’re a background character in the grand play of teenage drama; the next, you’re the new headline written and edited in the hallways. Welcome to the show.
However, that’s the thing about high school gossip—it’s less about the truth and more about the drama it creates. The facts don’t matter when the narrative is entertaining enough to hold everyone’s attention for the six minutes we have between classes. But why do we buy into it knowing it hurts others? Maybe it’s because knowing the inside scoop gives us a sense of power, like you’re one step ahead of everyone else. It’s almost like we crave the chaos, as if watching others shred someone else’s reputation to pieces makes our own lives feel a little less messy.
Let’s take me for example. Over winter break, people took an incident that should have been mine to share and twisted it into something completely false. One moment, I’m picking up the pieces of somebody else’s mistake, and the next, I’m hearing rumors that it was all my fault. It’s interesting how the story flips so easily, with the loudest voices often coming from those with the least evidence to back them up. You don’t realize how heavy a rumor is until it's about you. Some might say I’m being dramatic. But here’s the thing about rumors: they stick. They cling to you like glitter, impossible to wash off no matter how many times you scrub. And the worst part? We’ve all been there. It does nothing but leave you walking through the halls feeling like a stranger to your own name. And that feeling doesn’t wash off so easily.
Honestly, it’s never going to get better. The same people who thrive on spreading rumors in high school don’t disappear; they never grow up and they will still find new ways to stir the pot. You can't control the narrative. The truth just doesn’t stand a chance against a good story. But here’s the thing-- while other people are caught up in the drama, I’m busy moving forward, writing my own story (literally), and showing that I’m so much more than the rumors that try to define me. Because we are all more than the headline, more than the gossip.
And as for those who thrive off rewriting stories? Consider this a reminder that truth has a funny way of resurfacing, eventually. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but it always does. So keep talking. Keep spinning your stories. And I’ll keep writing mine.
Yours truly,
Liana
