Originally posted by SlyDonJuan:
revenge
You can take your revenge in many ways and you probably haven't thought of them all. You do not seem to be the type to cause your enemies harm (physical, emotional, or otherwise) and so I'm not as concerned about talking you down as the rest of the board has been.
While we're on the subject of revenge, I'd like to share with you a personal story:
When I was a freshman in college, I was completely clueless with women. I was miserable and had very lousy social skill. My life revolved around music, schoolwork, and getting fat and depressed. I didn't live with my parents and they wouldn't have been much of a help either.
A female acquaintance (who happened to have a crush on me, although at the time I was clueless) introduced me to her big brother, a jock who attended college nearby. He bragged about how much tail he was getting at my school on the weekends, and about how his girlfriend was ignorant of how much of a player he was. He was vulgar and aggressive, and his jock-friends gave me a lot of sh`t. So yeah, in every interaction with this dude I felt like I was back in high school.
It pissed me off that guys like him were getting laid left and right while I wasn't. After all, I was such a nice guy (and a remarkable AFC) and after years of being bullied and harassed by big, hairy apes like jock-o I wasn't going to sit by and let them "win."
I eventually found the DJ site. I channeled all of my energy from being angry into becoming who I am today (far from perfect but far from depressed.) One of my first victories involved repeatedly hooking up with a very attractive girl I met in class. Neither of us were serious but one day she made it clear how she admired the changes I had made in my life (had she been watching?) and asked me if I'd like to "date steady?"
Okay, I had stopped being a chump long-ago, so use some imagination and think of how I responded.
So date-steady is like, "I'm sorry, I'm not trying to rush into a relationship with you or anything. It's just that you seem to have a lot more to offer than my previous boyfriends. For instance, take..." and yes, she named big brother jock-o! Remember him?
"He used to cheat on me and I got fed up and dumped him. I kind of told him that we were uh, going out, and he got all angry. Where do you know him from? I'm pretty sure he knows you. Well, anyway, he keeps sending me flowers and taping poetry to my front door. He keeps calling and telling me how much he needs me... The poems are quite amusing. I'll have to share them with you some time."
Sly, you might not believe this. But I kind of felt sorry for jock-o. Revenge is great and all, but sometimes when you rise above someone who was a d1ck to you or just a d1ck in general, you realize that they were never really ahead of you and that any pain or frustration they caused you when you were fourteen is nothing compared to all of the pain and frustration they'll face when everyone else around them go places and excel at living while they don't.
But don't get too caught up keeping track of everyone else. Life is too short. If the people around you treat you poorly or keep you out of their circle, f-ck that. There are plenty of other people on this planet and they haven't met or judged you yet. Opportunity exists everywhere. Don't worry, you'll rise above your "enemies," but don't become hell-bent on exacting vengeance or you'll inadvertently push the people who mean the most to you away. Maybe another time, I'll tell you how my anger/desire for revenge has f-cked me over.
But get off your ass and change. You've got to change. People will not change for you. No book or system will change you. No pill or diet supplement. No therapist will wave a magic wand over your body and make you charismatic and succesful. You've got some crappy thoughts circulating your mind, telling you you're no good, or that you can't do better than ugly chicks. And angry thoughts comparing you to every jerk who has ever rubbed you the wrong way, insisting that you take revenge. You really defeat yourself, and you probably need someone to listen to you and point out when you make those comments and have these thoughts so that you can stop making and having them. But it is up to you to change. It all starts with a reason to change and a desire to change. And that should translate into action.
DWK