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Pro tip: if your mom picks your friends for you, watch out for the one she loves most
My mom ran my social life from age 8 to 17 and I didn't clock it until one week last March. She made me join the church youth group in our town of 4,000 people, and every kid I brought home got the third degree at the kitchen table before they could stay for dinner. The one she adored was Kyle, who laughed at all her jokes and called her ma'am and never once had a curfew problem. So I spent three years hanging out with a guy I didn't even like, because every time I tried to branch out she'd say the other kids were a bad influence and I'd feel guilty for days. When I finally told Kyle I was done being friends, he told my mom before I got home, and she cried at me for 45 minutes about loyalty. I'm 19 now and I still catch myself checking whether she'd approve before I text anyone new. Has anyone else had a parent basically install a friend for them, and how did you get out of it?
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dylan_bell19d ago
The part about him telling your mom before you got home is the real tell here. That wasn't a friendship, that was a reporting system, and he knew which side his bread was buttered on. The thing nobody talks about is that you don't just lose a bad friend in that situation, you find out the person was never really yours to begin with, they were hers.
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ryanh5619d ago
Did he ever actually stick up for you even once before that? Because if he didn't, this wasn't some sudden betrayal, it was just the first time it showed. Guys like that pick the side with more power and they do it early, you just don't notice until it costs you something. My advice is don't confront him or try to get an explanation, you won't get one that means anything and it just keeps you tied to the whole mess. Cut him loose, keep your head down around your mom for a while, and pay more attention to who actually shows up when things are bad. That's the only test that matters.
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