You Got TOM'D : The Drama of the Top 8

Before I begin I have two anecdotes of sorts. The first... is actually a comic... it's one of my favorite Penny Arcades to date...

right-click to enlarge

The next anecdote is actually an inside joke between Kurtiss and myself about the audacity of when one of your top friends removes you as a friend and Tom is added onto your profile in their stead. We refer to this as being "Tom'd" and how embarrassing it is to realize you've looked like a fuckin tool having Tom in your top friends... that you really could come up with 8 people you kinda know or even bands that you like... these two stories of sorts bring me to my rant.

The Drama of Top 8

In all honesty since the birth of the social networking craze and the ability to rank our friends no good has come of it. It's ended friendships, brewed vendettas, and honestly causes so much more trouble than it's worth. Why even have a top friends box... why do we have to rank those closest to us. I've always hated it.

First off... because I'm one of those people who gets seriously offended if I'm not in someone else's top whatever... it's like... Dude... You can't expect me to believe " un-named whore i hate 5" is a better friend to you!? It makes me feel like such a five year old... but I'm not going to lie...

that gets to me more tho... when people pretend it's not a big deal... OF COURSE it's a big deal... if having the power to break even the strongest of wills wasn't fun in some secret sadistic way... top friend applications wouldn't exist. I mean what the best way to let someone know you've moved on... rip that bitch out of the top 8... or put your new boyfriend as number one.It's the best leverage... and testing the waters... forget about it...

Of course I always feel so awkward when I have someone in my top friends and i'm not in theirs... I mean I had Nate in my top friends for like 2 months and eventually just took him out because i feel like that douche Karen that no one likes. But you know what's worse? Is when someone puts you in their top friends and you have to make a space for them... and like you can't add another row because you don't have 3 other people you really care to put up... and then you have to decide who you're gonna kick out...

I realize that being honest about being offended by all this makes me like Emo Tween of the year. But seriously... it grinds my gears. My feeling of worthlessness in someone's life should not be sparked by the fact that after 9 months, or 4 years (ahem BRITTANY! :p) I don't feel like a "top friend". I mean really... what more could I POSSIBLY do?!

In all seriousness it does hurt my feelings. And I know that makes me tool, but so be it I'm not going to pretend like it's ok. That's the end of that chapter.