Dear Hannah and Cienna,

I just got into a fight with my friend. I’m really mad at her, and I don’t think she has any right to be mad at me. I don’t want to apologize because I don’t think I did anything wrong, but I want to work things out between us. How do you suggest I go about this?

Sincerely,

Brawling Buddies

Dear Brawling Buddies,

Good question. Fights with friends stink. But oftentimes, a fight is not worth losing a good friend over. To try to rebuild your bond, you first need to find out the heart of the fight. Take a step back and reflect upon the proportion of the conflict. If you are comfortable, ask your friend to meet for ice cream or coffee, and talk about what went wrong. Listen to their point of view, and try to understand how they feel. Tell your side of the story as well so that you both understand how your words and actions affected each other. It is important to realize that things may not be immediately fixed and may be awkward for a while. Who knows, maybe things between you two will never be the same again- it is up to you to realize when to end a relationship that you feel is unhealthy. Hopefully, that is not the case, and you and your friend are able to talk things out and mend your friendship. If things don’t go well at first, just give it a break but don’t give up! Friends are worth fighting for but not fighting with!

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