(November 22, 2002) — Lies and rumors, hate and envy ricochet like bullets in the halls of high school. Words get twisted, and events that never occurred in the first place somehow, in some crazy, miraculous way “happen” just to rise a issue during the undersized thirty minute lunch hour. Through the telephone, chatting online, and locker room conversations, that one innocent peck on the cheek you gave turns into the night where you went farther than the eye can see. I guess when the game is over, all bets are off. Rumors are too easy to believe, even if they are about you. It’s reality—someone, at one point in your four glorious years of high school is bound to enlighten the eager public with an exaggerated story about that life of yours outside of school that, even you, never knew existed. It’s all too surprising as to what people have to translate about your meaningless actions. We live in a world of gossip—a world where people strive to see the next day for yet another day of prying and passing. Face it—Gossip ruins lives. So, before you utter what you overheard in third period to your best friend, ask yourself—Is it really necessary? Is it fair to the other party? (Most likely, it isn’t). Most of all, is it true? Are you so dulled out by your own lives that you have to “perk” up someone else’s? For the victims of the underestimated world of gossip: For every person that has brought you down and filled your life with incessant tears on your pillow, you must hold your head up high—don’t let anyone take away the dignity they have left you with. Defend your reputation and look after your morality because those are factors you have to live with for the rest of your lives—which is more than I can say about a lot of people. You never know when the influence of rumors will rule you. You never know when you’ll have to run home in tears, trying to cover it all up from your worried mom…you never know of the point in your life when you’ll have the hardest time trusting others because of the cunning and malicious ways of gossip. The more you try to stop the rumor from spreading, the more obscure it becomes. You never know when you’ll have sleepless nights tossing and turning. It may not seem like such a major concern now, but you never know when the government will subside, or your parents’ marriage destroyed. Once scandal tarnishes a reputation, it’s never the same. Gossip—the more repeated, the more believed.