Have you ever really finished a game of Monopoly? Me neither.
I grew up under the assumption that "winning" at Monopoly is that moment when, in tears, your opponent melodramatically accepts defeat. After long hours of grueling intellectual battle, he throws down his meager stack of fives and ones. You assume control of his final, most beloved properties, ransom for the exorbitant Boardwalk rent. Small plastic houses take flight as he overturns the game board in an effort to erase all memory of his embarrassing annihilation. It's over, you've won and your once-blossoming friendship has now taken three steps in the wrong direction.
Bitter, he refused to play Pokemon with you for a week in the wake of your victory, and once-cherished recess time left you feeling dejected and isolated. In your fifth grade mindset, you had hit rock-bottom.
Now that we're all grown up and mature, we don't have time to squabble over silly things like Illinois Avenue and "get out of jail free" cards. We have big-people problems now, and sometimes that includes fighting with those closest to us.
Really though, it's the important things these days. Bridget Melvin '16 recounted the tragedy of the day when one of her best friends sat with another girl in class.
"When I walked in the room late, I just thought, Where is he?'" Melvin said. A tear glistened softly in the corner of her eye as she spoke, raw emotions beginning to boil over.
"Then I saw," she said, the corner of her mouth twitching as she relived the moment. "He was sitting with that other girl. I got jealous, and then I just got mad."
Composing herself, Melvin described how she handled such an emotionally intense situation.
"I acted cool, calm and collected, like it didn't bother me," she said.
Despite Melvin's ironclad exterior, the day's events had already taken their toll.
"Down deep, it really did affect me," she said. "We usually walk to the library together to study after class, but I couldn't handle it. I just went by myself."
More revealing, the day's events had taken a real toll on Melvin's ability to trust.
"I didn't want to risk rejection a second time," she said. "I mean, what if he wanted to study with her? I felt betrayed."
While Melvin's story is heartbreaking, sadly, she is not alone.
One '15, who wished to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of the discussion, recounted a harrowing tale from his freshman year.
"I had a roommate who just started wearing my clothes," he said.
But it didn't stop there.
"One time, I came back from a weekend away, and I found out he had been sleeping in my bed," the anonymous victim said. "He denied it, but I found a girl's sock in it, and I don't wear girls' socks."
For the old-fashioned among us, as well as the not so old-fashioned, encounters of that sort are understandably less than desirable. Being in a fight with a friend, even if you know you're in the right. Eventually, the feeling of righteous anger just fades to a certain melancholy when you have to stop yourself from posting that hilarious Buzzfeed post to their wall, no matter how much you know they'd love it. And if you're the offender (you are the wound, to quote "Girls") then forget it. It's one of the worst feelings there is, and it makes you desperate to get back in your bestie's good graces. But with most of the disagreements we get into with our friends, we should stop and ask ourselves, what's the harm? Often, the most awkward exchanges between good friends are the most forgivable.
That time you walked in on your roommate changing? Yeah, we've all been there. Compliment their new undies and move on.
Overslept your breakfast date by 10 minutes and didn't run out of ways to rephrase "I'm sorry" until the following week? Been there too.
At the end of the day, the only thing we can do is sit back and laugh at ourselves. We aren't perfect, and neither are our friends. So why not make the most of it and pledge to forgive and forget? We love each other, and more often than not conflict resolution is just around the corner.
Keep calm and carry on. Love life, love your friends and hope you don't land on Boardwalk.
