Many people may know the game called telephone. I am sure that many people played it when they were in grade school. It is a game about passing words around and try and make it back to the person who started. If you played it, you would have witnessed how easy it is for people to mistake one word for another. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to end when students reach high school as rumors begin spreading. It starts with the drama—an action done to over-exaggerate something done by a classmate and/or peer, then one person says it to another, people start bending it and eventually it makes it back to the person who created the drama. This spreads negativity, and with everything that high schoolers have on their plates, negativity is the last thing they need. This is something that happens even in a small town like here in Yutan, and it’s time to put a stop to it.

Rumors can escalate very quickly; by someone just bending a couple words, they can make it sound like something completely different. As a senior, I have heard my fair share of rumors, whether or not they were about me or involved me. I know many people whose days are made when they start a rumor, and I also know many people whose days are ruined by these rumors. People who spread the rumors don’t realize the impact that they have on the victims of the rumors. It doesn’t take long to ruin someone’s day. It can start off really small, but sooner or later, it can spread throughout the entire town, especially a small town like Yutan. The small town pride isn’t so prideful with drama, now is it? The negativity that these rumors spread is so jarring that I have experienced people break down from hearing a rumor about themselves through their best friends.

Another big reason rumors are toxic is it can make people feel like they are alone. It can make them feel unloved or unwanted. Unfortunately, I have firsthand experience with this. It was my sophomore year. My old school had this group of boys who knew nothing about when to talk and when to stay quiet. This experience was with one of my greatest friends. My friend and a couple of his buddies went out to eat, but one of them had left early to go spend time with his girlfriend. Once she left his place, he called his friend. The reason for that is something I never found out, but later that night, people started a rumor that she left his house to go to his friend’s house. The group of people who didn’t know when to stay quiet started a rumor by saying that his friend got with his girlfriend. It only got worse from there. The friend later found out about it, which soon led to his death from suicide. From a very small rumor to something like my friend’s, is the spread of rumors worth someone’s life?

Negativity through rumors is something that will always be around as long as they are present. It’s hard to understand when somebody is serious or if they made it up. From my experiences and for the sake of everyone else’s, stop spreading things that are not about you. It does no one any good to get in other people’s business. As rumors get twisted, tension builds, friendships and relationships get more and more distant and, the most important detail, your negativity towards people slowly starts to strengthen until it gets to the point where they don’t want to be around you. 

All in all, rumors and drama spread negativity everywhere they are. The negativity will always be present, and so will the tension. If people want peace, these all have to go. It doesn’t matter if only a few believe in the push towards the banishment of rumors and drama, everyone must be in agreement to stop them completely. With rumors still around, it is hard to ever truly know if someone is true to what they say or if they are a liar. The school is a better place without negativity, but it won’t go away. If drama or rumors were the cause of you or one of your peer’s death, how heartbroken would you feel? Imagine how their parents would feel. Imagine the morale of the school and how low it would be if someone were to end their own life. This is why I am pushing for rumors and drama to end, and so should you.