The live-and-let-die philosophy states: I’ll do me, and you do you.
This means when a person sees someone dealing with their issues or having a disagreement, they hold back and resolve their problems on their terms without involving unnecessary peers.
This philosophy is difficult to follow in high school. Drama and gossip surround friend groups and relationships like a toxic cloud, creating unnecessary issues and disagreements.
High school drama also makes many students blow situations out of proportion and spread it to everyone.
Social media enhances the distribution of gossip and personal issues being spread to more people. Apps like Snapchat use private stories where people can post negative things about others for a large audience. Private messaging can also increase the rumors said about others behind their back or even to their face.
The stigma surrounding gossip and drama in high school causes many issues within peer groups. Many people think it is fun to talk about others negatively with their friends or talk about the crazy thing someone said to them.
Students hear other people talking about their disagreement with someone and immediately try to step in to hear all about it.
In other cases, students will have an issue with their friend and go to a mutual friend for advice, typically pressuring the third-party friend into picking a side. Naturally, if someone is a friend thrown into a situation like this, it is best to step back and say it is not their issue. The best advice to both sides is to talk it out and come to a compromise.
Many Lakeland High School students have experience with high school drama and gossip. Some students are resilient in dealing with these issues, while others have struggled greatly.
Hans Pluid, a senior at LHS, has dealt with many issues involving unnecessary drama and rumors in his high school career.
Pluid said that having drama and other things spread about someone can make people associate their name negatively. In his personal experience, he has had people see him as a bad guy due to the rumors spread about him.
“Having to deal with unnecessary drama made high school not as enjoyable,” Pluid said. “It got to the point where I didn’t want to be around my peers anymore, and I’m now switching to online.”
Pluid also agrees that drama can cause friends to break up and fight over things that are not true.
Jillian Smith, a senior at LHS, also has dealt with her share of drama.
Smith has found that if gossip and drama between friends never clouded her relationships or friendships, she would still be very close with people she does not talk to anymore.
“Drama can ruin good things because talk can be bigger than actions to most people,” Smith said. “I feel like people could step back from situations that don’t involve them and let others live their lives. Things would be much better for students.”
Smith makes a good point. Stepping back from situations that do not involve an outside party and trying to give advice is not helpful. Involving others in drama is not beneficial to the problem, and involving yourself in others’ drama can also harm the situation.
Live and let die. Let others live their life and live yours.
