DEAR ABBY: I'm a 12-year-old girl trying to live a simple life. I read your column every day. I have one small question. I really wanna know why girls don't like each other that much. Many girls at my school are really mean. I wish I knew the answer to why girls are like that. Do you know why? -- CONFUSED
DEAR CONFUSED: Girls your age are mean to other girls for a variety of reasons. Some o£ them may be acting out because they are having problems at home. They may do it because they are jealous or to make themselves feel more important (a power trip).
Girls like this have never been taught to respect the feelings of others. They behave this way because they haven't matured enough to have developed empathy, an ability to be sensitive to the feelings of those they are hurting.