How a girl ruined my entire highschool life

Summary

The narrator recounts how his first relationship, in ninth grade, spiraled into a painful high-school ordeal. New to dating, he asked for the girl’s number by pretending to drop his phone. A few days after they started talking, he told her, “I love you.” After about two months together, he ended the relationship over Christmas break.

When school resumed, classmates and even friends began treating him differently. Private, sexually suggestive messages between the two were circulating, but he later learned that people were also accusing him of sexual assault and rape—claims he says were untrue. He does not know how the rumors grew or who spread each version, but says they cost him friends, damaged his reputation, and left him feeling isolated. One person who doubted the story because there was no evidence eventually became someone he could date.

The narrator describes reaching a crisis point and attempting suicide several times. One night, his father intervened, and the narrator was sent to a mental hospital. He ends by saying he is doing much better now and urges viewers in similar situations to value trustworthy friends and be careful about whom they trust.

His account is emotional and serious, with a few awkward, self-deprecating laughs early on that contrast sharply with the gravity of what follows.

People Mentioned

• The narrator
• His unnamed ex-girlfriend
• An unnamed former friend who asked him about the rumor
• A later girlfriend who initially did not believe the rumor without evidence
• His father