how to my friend that she annoys me and the whole lot to death..

Philippines
March 13, 2007 8:17pm CST
i have a friend who happens to be so bossy. she pushes the whole group to do things her way; she makes advances; and she doesn't care if she's bothering us as long as she gets what she wants.. i think that among the group, i happen to be the outspoken type, who speaks what's on my mind (but there are limitations, of course).. my friends keep on complaining about her because she's a real pain in the you-know-what.. i assured them that i'd handle it.. but then i don't know how.. this bossy friend of mine happens to be a "scandalosa", our term for a person who humiliates someone in a crowd by screaming or calling names at him/her.. hey i don't want to be humiliated.. what should i do? she easily gets mad and seconds later, there'll be an outburst from her.. wow.. she's really tough.. if you guys can only meet her.. me, i'm very patient with her because she's my friend.. but i'm not so sure that my friends can handle her.. i'm sure that in time, my patience will evaporate and i might insult her if she doesn't cut her crap.. perhaps, my friends and i should confront her together to even her madness right? hehe.. kidding.. ok ok what should i do now? i promised my friends that i'd handle it.. tsk, a big mistake? sigh..
1 response
• United States
14 Mar 07
Hi there. This is a tough one because there could be so many different factors to your friend's behavior. First off, let me say that you must be a good friend to her; to be able to tell your other friends that you would handle it. This is, I'm assuming, because of two reasons: 1)you don't want her to get her feelings hurt and 2)you don't want your other friends to get their feelings hurt. This does put you in a difficult situation though. The first thing I would do if I were you would be to ask yourself a couple of questions. Has anything happened, or is still happening, in your friend's life that has made her act this way? Do you really wish to remain friends with someone who has to have her way even if it means being mean and humiliating the people that she calls her friends? I don't mean to sound harsh and I apologize if it's coming across that way, but think of it like this; could remaining friends with someone who is acting hateful, hurt your other friendships? Perhaps there was, or is something going on in her life that she really needs someone to talk to about. If that is the case, then maybe, with patience she will be able to talk to you about it. I don't know if she has always been like this or if it's something new in her behavior. It is going to be hard for you whichever way you decide to approach her. I just turned 41 years old recently and I've been around enough to know that your friends should treat you as good as you treat them. If this girl is not allowing you or your other friends to be yourselves and demanding that things go her way all the time, then as much as I hate to say it, she will eventually end up isolating herself and anyone who chooses to hang out with her. I hope that I've helped you some in trying to figure out how to approach this problem. Remember, treat her as you would want to be treated, and if the friendship ends you will at least know in your heart that you did what you could for her. If, however, the friendship becomes strained because of this problem, but you all can get past it, this will cause your friendship to be stronger. It's so hard to predict how someone will react when confronted. I don't think that anyone has a right to belittle someone simply because they didn't get their way. Life is too short and too precious to waste energy on such trivial things. Good luck to you in whatever happens and know that you have been a good friend to her. :)
• Philippines
17 Mar 07
Hey, thanks! I've realized we're all still teenagers; we also need friends to help us grow. I think it would be better if I tell her how we really feel about her. Hopefully, that'll help her look at herself.. Perhaps, she'll change for the better.. =)
• United States
17 Mar 07
You're more than welcome. I hope that hearing it from a true friend like yourself will help her to understand how she is being seen through someone else's eyes and she will indeed change for the better. Best wishes for a great outcome! :)