Rejection. This nine letter word is common to everyone who has ever been on the planet. But what does it mean? Well, if I bring it up, most folks will assume I got rejected after I stuffed a bouquet of flowers in some dude’s face and asked him to take me out for ice cream. That’s not the case, though I wish I were that bold. Rejection doesn’t only revolve romantic relationships, it is a friendship, a social interaction, a life (is that too bold?). Taylor Swift sings about it all the time in When You’re “Fifteen”, maybe a little generic but tear jerking, “Dear John,” and “Invisible” (welcome to my life). Ever since my sixth grade year, I’ve been eyeing rejection, labeling it as my enemy. But now, my junior year, I’m beginning to find interest in it.

It’s funny on TV, in music videos, and on anxiety blogs but once it’s in our own lives, where’s the tub of ice cream, or in my case, where can I break some glass (not really). I’m stuck with the image of Drew Barrymore in Never Been Kissed (1999) getting egged by her super hot “prom date” as she stands, red nosed and nerdy, on her front porch. Or the many blogs about thirty year old men who haven’t been kissed, the third wheel syndrome, and dare I say it, the socially inept pretty girl! Oh! It drives a stake through my heart just thinking of it. Even though these blogs can be dubbed a therapeutic circle, they are entertainment, a laughing stock to internet viewers and themselves. Rejection becomes a negative thing, humiliating, instead of a learning experience.

But me? I say laugh at those humiliating times, shake it off, and learn from it. If you’re a third wheel, stop suckin’ your thumb and make yourself known! To those thirty year olds who haven’t felt another’s lips press against their’s, just go up to someone and kiss ‘em (just inspect for signs of mono). And the socially inept pretty people, flaunt it cus’ you got it because all you have to do is feel it. Rejection should only make someone more motivated, more ready to encounter unpredictable situations. This isn’t the time to skip the laxatives, who wants to be stuck on the toilet while everyone else is having fun?

***Sarcasm intended