We’re in a society that loves to hate. We hate certain foods and  certain people – whether that be people that have wronged us, or just people we hate irrationally. We hate our classes, our clothes, and even sometimes our family members.

      For what? All day, I overhear people in the hallways hating people for the most obscure reasons. One day, the keypad in the cafeteria didn’t work for, like, ten seconds. It didn’t seem like a big deal, but someone I know said they hated the cafeteria woman, and that if she got the chance, she would slap her?!  

    The hating doesn’t even stop at school. Online, people continue to make fun of others, hiding behind the screen. People who choose to be a ‘hater’ are absolutely appalling. 

       “The worst kind of person is someone who makes someone feel bad, dumb or stupid for being excited about something,” says Taylor Swift. I wish everyone lived by that, but unfortunately, that’s not the case. In fact, our society loves to hate SO much that if I said that quote was by Taylor Swift, many people would go out of their way to say how much they hate HER.  

      I’m not a ‘Swiftie,’ but that doesn’t mean I need to let everyone know. At North Harford Middle School, they had Taylor Swift day. If I wasn’t a fan of hers, I didn’t have to participate. 

      Easy solution, right? Apparently not.  

      Many parents emailed the school to complain, just because they don’t like her. My mom is a teacher at NHMS, which means that I go there every day after school. If I am ever in the presence of a ‘Swiftie’ faculty member, I overhear AT LEAST one kid saying to them, “Taylor Swift sucks.” Not only are these students attacking people who don’t share the same opinion as them, they are also turning something that is meant to be fun into a controversial topic. 

      I would like to think that high school students are more mature than these 11–13-year-olds, but I can clearly see that is not the case.  

      Most of the students at NHHS are almost adults. Why would you care how someone wears their hair?  Do you want to see a reaction from them? Is it because you genuinely just don’t like it? Either way, you have no place to make a hate comment. 

      It takes so much energy to be negative. Instead of hating, people could EASILY use that time to do something positive, or participate in a fun, mood improving activity. Personally, I would be exhausted if I spent my day being a ‘hater,’ especially because there isn’t any point to it.  

      At their core, according to Parks, haters hate due to insecurities, low self-esteem, and envy towards someone. They sometimes see others doing better than them, compare themselves to others, and lash out. This leads people to believe they are so much better than the people around them. When someone convinces themself that they are superior to others, morality slips away.  

      I guess this column is me hating haters, but occasionally, an exception can be made. Let’s say you hate a book you are reading in class, so you write a letter about why it isn’t good to your teacher. Okay. Just don’t do it to a living being, especially without reason. Why would you? More so to a person you don’t even know. 

      The good news is that there’s an easy fix: Just. Be. Nice. Or, at the very least, just shut up. Being negative is a mindset, and only YOU can change it.