To my friends,

I know that sometimes, we get in fights. Sometimes they're a mutual issue. But most of the time, you guys get mad at me or frustrated with me because I say something that either offends you, hurts your feelings, or just makes you generally upset. If I'm being honest, that seems to be the only reason I fight with anyone anymore. But I'm not writing this letter to apologize for any of this because I'm not sorry.

You see, ever since I was pretty young, I've been brutally honest. I remember getting into fights with my friends as early as the first grade because I would tell my friends if I thought an outfit didn't look good, or if I thought they were being mean to me or someone else. As long as I can remember, I have never been one to bullshit people. So when you, my friends, get upset or mad or offended by something I say, I understand why you're upset, but I don't feel bad that you're upset.

Now you're probably thinking, "wow, that's not a good thing to say to your friends." But I'll tell you why I don't feel bad. I don't become friends with someone to always tell them what they want to hear. I don't become friends with someone to be just another person who tells them "Oh no matter what I support you," because that is not who I am. I become friends with someone to support them, yes. But not to blindly support them. I am not the friend who keeps her opinion to herself.

If I think that dude is bad news, guess what? I'm gonna tell you.

If I think you're not thinking very hard about a decision, I will tell you.

If I think you're stooping kind of low and being too petty to someone, I'm gonna tell you.

I don't hold my tongue, and I don't have a filter. I have no shame in calling people I care about out on the things they do. And like I said, I often get into arguments with my friends because I say things that they don't want to hear. But as I've said, I'm not sorry about that.

I'm not the friend to turn to when you want unconditional and unending support. I'm not the friend to call when you want someone to tell you what you want to hear.

I'm the friend you call when you want someone to give you an unfiltered opinion. I'm the friend you call when you can't decide if what you just did was dumb or not. I'm the friend you call when you want someone to tell you what you need to hear.

It's not that I don't care about my friends. It's that I care about them so much that I hate watching them destroy themselves with bad relationships, being unnecessarily petty, or by being rash in an important decision. That's just who I am. I'm the brutally honest, unfiltered, opinionated friend. And despite that, I still love my friends more than anything else. So please remember that the next time I say something brutally honest, that may upset you. Please remember I am saying all of it out of love, and that I want the best for you. I just express that differently.

Sincerely,

Your brutally honest friend