What About Your Friends... — Love Bees Honey

‘What About Your Friends’, Song by TLC, Songwriters: Dallas Austin / Lisa Lopez

Friends
What about your friends?
What about?
Friends
What about your friends?
What about, what about?

Every now and then I get a little crazy
That's not the way it's supposed to be
Sometimes my vision is a little hazy
I can't tell who I should trust
Or just who I let trust me, yeah

People try to say I act a little funny
But that's just a figure of speech to me
They tell me I changed because I got money
But if you were there before
Then you're still down with me

What about your friends?
Will they stand their ground?
Will they let you down? hey yay

What about your friends?
Are they gonna be low down?
Will they ever be around?
Or will they turn their backs on you?

Well is it me or can it be
I'm a little too friendly
So to speak hypothetically say
I supply creativity

To what others must take as
A form of self-hate
Only to make an enemy
Which results in unfortunate destiny
They dog me out then be next to me
Just 'cause I am what some choose to envy

This woman took an unnecessary bathroom photo with her friend using the stall in an unflattering way. What some would dismiss as a harmless picture, others have recognized for its mild offense. I am all too familiar, personally and objectively, with silent frenemies who are interested in shaming their friend then disguising it as a joke or being playful. There’s a hidden jealousy and insecurity within friends who like to humiliate and publicly exploit people they are close with.

Every now and then I get a little easy
I let a lot of people depend on me
I never thought they would ever deceive me
Don't you know when times got rough
I was standing on my own?

Sometimes our own family can be one of our first and worst enemies. They dismiss your feelings, overly critical about your life and harass you and your environment, all the while expecting you to love and forgive them. This sort of toxic dynamic can inhibit your growth, lifestyle and in some cases even kill you.

I'll never let another get that close to me
You see I've grown a lot smarter now
Sometimes you have to choose
And then you'll see
If your friend is true they'll be there
With you through the thick and thin

What about your friends?
Will they stand their ground?
Will they let you down? hey yay
Woah

Someone who pretended to be a best friend, mocked my text regarding my environmental safety and mental health (frequent home invasions gave me anxiety). This is a very passive aggressive woman— there have been many times I’ve approached her directly and she’s bold face lie to my face, then talk behind my back. I deactivated my FB site for a very short time and logged back in to see her post made the following day after my text (a considerate gesture I did for people I was close to instead of ghosting). In her emotionally manipulative post, she mentions traveling for her birthday to imply she has no one to travel with. Our birthdays are exactly two months apart and I’ve proven on multiple attempts that I’m able to travel on short notice; yet she victimizes herself and exaggerates her circumstance in order to gossip about me, taint my character, invoke sympathy for her, and highlight herself while degraded me.

What about your friends?
Are they gonna be low down?
Will they ever be around?
Or will they turn their backs on you?

Yo, this is me, well is it me
Or can it be I'm a little too friendly
So to speak hypothetically say
I supply creativity

To what others must take
As a form of self-hate
Only to make an enemy
Which results in unfortunate destiny
They dog me out then be next to me
Just 'cause I am what some choose to envy

If I have you in my closest circle, I do expect for you to support me. I proudly admit that if I have a venture that I’ve been working on or have an achievement, I will want those I call family and connect with often to be happy for me and acknowledge my efforts. I wasn’t always like this— in fact, I adopted this standard after cutting off people who would be upset that I share my accolades or creative projects. There always needed to be some major or public amount of support before friends and family backed me up. I enjoy being fair, so I’m not the kind of person who will pressure someone to promote something of mine if it didn’t fit an aesthetic. In this instance, I shared a project I’ve been working on for a very long while. Instead of immediate support, I was met with emotional guilt (“your friends don’t have to support you” energy) even though the people I looked to likes makeup and promoted others.

What about your friends?
Will they stand their ground?
Will they let you down? hey yay
Woah

What about your friends?
Are they gonna be low down?
Will they ever be around?
Or will they turn their backs on you?

I act a little funny
I wouldn't change not for no money
I'll be a friend as long as you're a friend to me, yeah, yeah

Even though I might seem easy
It don't give you no cause to deceive me
It's not the way that I want my friends to ever be

What about your friends?
Will they stand their ground?
Will they let you down? hey yay
Woah
What about your friends?
Are they gonna be low down?
Will they ever be around?

What about your friends?
Will they stand their ground?
Will they let you down? hey yay
Woah