In elementary school, I was in the gifted program, and there was only one gifted class per grade. So, I basically had the same people in my class for four years.

In that class there were about 15 boys and about eight girls. And news of parties got around quickly. So if you were planning a sweet birthday bash, you had to be prepared with eight princess paper plates. Parents would never let any girl be left out. (Boys were rarely invited … they still had cooties.)

But it never worked out very well. There were always at least two girls who disagreed with everything. At one of my parties, one girl had an all-out fit because she was the only one who didn't want to play outside.

I found myself being forced to take sides on petty disagreements. I was told that I wasn't allowed to talk to her, otherwise we couldn't be friends anymore. The pointless bickering and rumors reached a point where I didn't want to go to school.

So, on the last day that I ever attended Dr. Howard Elementary School, I vowed that I would never let myself be caught up in that drama again. But lately, I've witnessed similar situations at Uni. Apparently two groups of friends in my class were recently having a "war." I heard that one girl was mad at another because it seemed that so many boys liked her.

Haven't people learned that fighting over such trivial situations is simply ludicrous? It's a major stress to have friends forcing you to choose sides. I don't mean to sound like some song from "Sesame Street," but can't we all just get along?

Of course people are going to disagree, because everyone is different! But when people are dragged into arguments and pushed around, the stress can be truly harmful.

Of course, I also wonder if boys have similar issues. Are the statistics true? Do boys have less drama with friends? I try not to accept gender roles, but it does seem that my male friends create less drama, even if they're still subject to a lot of peer pressure.

I'm thankful, though, that there seems to be much less of this drama at Uni than at other schools. Watching even a few minutes of shows like "The Hills" and "Newport Harbor" can make me crazy, just because the drama is exponentially increased from what I'm used to. While I like watching "Mean Girls," I can't imagine living in a similar situation.

So when you feel like spreading a rumor or gossiping, at least have the decency not to drag friends into choosing sides. Causing your rival eternal humiliation isn't worth the stress on others.