last night, i remembered something from third grade. my best friend of most of elementary school, nicole somethingoranother, came over my house. we had a really fun time on the trampoline and drawing and playing pokemon cards and mario kart, but she found out i slept with a blue stuffed animal that my dad had bought for me when i was born. she pinkie swore not to tell anyone. the next day in school, she completely went back on her promise and told everyone. elementary kid schools are pretty mean, and they didn't stop teasing me for at least the entire day. but at the end of the day, as we were waiting for the bus, nicole whateverherlastnamewas whispered to me that she, too, still slept with a stuffed animal, and asked me not to tell anyone. looking back, i probably should have told everyone, just to get back at her. but i kept my promise, even though she hadn't done the same for me.

i'm reminded of this one seemingly insignificant event very often. sometimes people aren't who you think they are. sometimes you think you're closer to someone than you really are. sometimes people take things back and say things they don't mean and break promises. sometimes you think someone would do for you what you'd do for them. but it's not always true. time and time again i've made the same mistake of trusting people i probably shouldn't.

when will i learn?