29 June 2006

la vérité


if one of your friends was wearing an unflattering article of clothing, wouldn't you tell him or her about it?

here's a scenario:
anne. four feet, nine inches tall, one hundred and twenty pounds. anne is talking about wanting to look slimmer and taller. she decides to wear a floor-length a-line denim skirt along with a white long-sleeved c&c california top and flip flops. if you wish to be honest with her, you say something like, "anne, that's a really bad idea. not only will it not make you appear slimmer and taller, it will weigh you down and will remind the world of the late eighties'/early nineties' less glamorous moments."


if a friend of yours has horrible table manners, wouldn't you call his or her attention?

here's what might happen:
joe. hungry for chicken alfredo and thirsty for orange soda. he drags you to the nearest faux italian restaurant. both of you eat your food, except joe is eating his pasta three times faster than you are. after a few minutes, his shirt has an orange stain the size of his skull, and when he smiles at the waitress, you see something stuck between his front teeth. if you wish to be honest with him, you say something to the effect of, "dude, can you slow down a bit? it's not like we're on a tight schedule here. oh, and there's something on your teeth."


if a couple of your close friends are thinking about getting tattoos and you (like me) don't dig body art, wouldn't you advise them against it?

here's a possibility:
bob and mel. they both have it hard for tattoos. one day, they ask you for advice about what designs would look good on them. they're reciting their favorite phrases, stuff that remind them about each other, inside jokes, names of tattoo parlors, baby names, each others' names, your name, their mother's names, all that boring crap. finally, bob says he wants a lion on his right bicep. mel says she wants the words "hot bitch" around her belly button. you, the polite, enlightened, prophetic friend, say, "seriously? bob, in sixty years, that's not going to look like a lion anymore. none of your grandkids, no matter how good their eyesight, will be able to tell what that creature on your arm is. and mel, come on! 'hot bitch'? that's not going to look so hot post-pregnancy when your belly is strewn with stretch marks and swinging like a pendulum."


my point is, somehow, you need to tell your friend(s) the truth. not watered down, not sugarcoated. if you think that something does not suit them, or they're making bad decisions, or simply because they need a reality check, someone needs to tell them. hopefully, that someone is you.

Posted by ilovesecondhandsmoke @ 9:47 PM