“I don’t want to come to your stinkin’ party anyway!” Those were the words I thought, but never uttered as a young adolescent in the roaring 80’s. One of my middle school’s most popular girls was having a party at Holiday Skate Center, and while we appeared to be friends during school, I was hurt to find out I wasn’t invited to her big bash. So I began the mental fireworks show of popping off questions of what could be wrong and why I wasn’t invited. Was it because I only had one Member’s Only jacket? Was it because my Mama wouldn’t let me get a Jheri Curl and my hair puffed up during P.E.? Was it because deep down inside she really didn’t like me? Why, oh why wasn’t I invited?!?!

Social rejection, or perceived social rejection (in other words it’s not really rejection, but all in our minds) can be hard. As…