Dear Orlando: My Friend is Conceited
Orlando

Dear Orlando,
My friend ‘Amber’ is always talking about how much guys like her and how it’s so difficult not being able to get people to take her seriously because of her looks. We’re sort of opposites. I’m more the introverted type and she’s totally extroverted and willing to talk to anyone. I love spending time with her because she totally inspires me to be more forward, but sometimes her over-confidence gets on my nerves. How can I tell her to cool down all her self-promotional speech without damaging her self-esteem or making her feel like I’m judging her?

Thanks,
Friend of Popular

Dear Friend,
Amber sounds totally annoying. I can see why you are friends with her, though, and think she has a lot to teach you. Most of us could use a little inspiration to be outgoing so I think you should keep her around. Most girls who spend a lot of time telling you how cool they are actually don’t feel all that cool on the inside. If she actually believed she was cool, desirable, and fun she wouldn’t need to run around telling everyone so all the time. So, in order to make sure that she doesn’t keep blabbering to you about how rad she is all the time, I’d stop responding to her when she does so. For example, when she says stuff like “I went on a date with this guy but I can’t tell if I like him because all these OTHER guys like me too!” pretend like she’s speaking French or some language that you don’t speak. After a while, she’ll start to get it and start understanding that what she’s saying is totally not interesting to you. If that doesn’t work, dump her. There are plenty of outgoing friends to meet in this gorgeous city, and finding ones that aren’t completely conceited could be just the social exercise that you need. YAY!

Kiss,
Orlando