Your friend is always joining the same clubs and doing
everything that you do. You like her, of course, but you’re tired of seeing her
every second of every day. So how do you get your pal to work on her own style
this year?
Do: Build Her Up
Encourage your bestie to pursue her interests, mainly the
ones that don’t line up with yours. Maybe she just isn’t confident enough to
break into a new club on her own, and she needs your support to gather up the
courage. So tell her how great her artwork is, or how smart she is. Then point
out that she could really use those talents by joining the National Art Honor
Society or the Quizbowl. Hopefully she’ll take the hint and give ‘em a chance.
Don’t: Take the
Escape Route
The worst thing you can do to your shadow BFF is to quit a
club after she joins. She’ll probably put 2 and 2 together, and realize that
you’re trying to avoid her. And that’ll cause some major heartbreak. So even if
she joins your newest club, too, don’t back out. Try to find your own friends
within the club and to enjoy the new experience.
Do: Make Some
Introductions
Try introducing your pal to some new people in the clubs
that you guys have joined. Maybe they’ll have different interests than you
that’ll capture her attention. And if not, at least she’ll have some other
people to hang out with when that club meets, which means you can finally have
a few minutes to yourself.
Don’t: Join to Join
It is definitely not cool to join a club that you’re not
interested in at all just because you know your bestie would never follow you
there. You’ll end up regretting it when you’re bored to tears in the meetings
and have nothing in common with the other members. So don’t change your
personality just because your pal is copying it – you had it first, and you
deserve to keep it.
Do: Talk It Out
This one you’ve gotta be careful with because you can’t just
accuse your BFF of totally copying you. Instead, try asking her what got her
interested in the club, and if she doesn’t have a good answer, you can then
steer her toward another activity that might be more up her alley. Maybe your
questions will get her thinking about her real motives for joining, and she’ll
take the hint that you don’t need a living, breathing shadow.
So chickies, what do
you do when you’ve had a li’l too much together-time with your BFF?
BY CARRIE RUPPERT ON 9/8/2012 11:09:00 AM
POSTED IN bust my bestie problem, good friend, bad friend, dealing with jealousy, how can I help my friend, copycat, dealing with competition