The Shitty Friend: Well aren't you just shittastic!

You know the friend I'm talking about, too. The Shitty Friend. Or as Urban Dictionary puts it (so eloquently):

"Someone who says they will hang out with their "friends" but always backs out. Responds to text messages with "idk" "hi" or "umm" instead of giving an actual response. Pretends to be sorry for ditching friends, but does it again anyways."

I'd like to also add the excuse of "busy" as something The Shitty Friend likes to utilize.

Now, I'm not always the best friend. Sometimes, I respond in short replies or don't respond until much later. Sometimes, I even say I've been busy. And I'm sorry I've been a shitty friend lately. I've been using the busy excuse a lot. Not that I haven't been truly busy, but it's pretty damn hypocritical of me to harp on others using the "busy" excuse. That said, I haven't quite earned the title of The Shitty Friend (well.... I hope I haven't... Maybe I should take a brief survey from my friends...). I try to respond as quickly as I can to texts (sometimes it's the next day, but still, I'm trying).

At what point do you draw the line and say "You're a shitty friend"?
Or do you start off by saying "You've been a shitty friend lately"?
Or do you just let it go. Let them drift away and hope that the feeling of missing them will go away soon.

Now, another question for you, how long do you give someone in the period of Shit Friendliness before they become The Shitty Friend? Like, do you track them down, sit face to face and talk about their Shit Friendliness and hope something changes before they earn the title? That's what my gut says to do. No games, just straight up truth talk.

But then the passive aggressive side of me comes out. And I'm like, You wanna play? Game. On.

Passive aggression takes a lot of energy though. Energy I'd rather spend on friends who actually WANT to spend time with me, hear about my day. Not just use me for their own problems then peace out when they're all better.

I feel better now :) Ahhh, a good rant feels wonderful. Now, back to studying.