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Thanks to the future Angela Kardashian and her growing heir to the Kardashian’s reality TV empire, the game of being petty done changed. Since retaliating against the Kardashian-Jenner clan who stole her man in the form of an engagement to Rob Kardashian and a pregnancy, Blac Chyna has been front and center in this renowned trend of being petty. While she’s not the only pop culture figure mastering the art of pettiness, I guarantee she’s the most celebrated on Twitter and in group chats as of late. Hands down, this year can’t get any pettier, even if Janet Hubert made another silly video about things Will Smith did in the ’90s. And though, at times (for instance, online), being petty is quite hilarious, I’m here to tell you being petty in real life is just not cool. In fact, it’s downright problematic when you make pettiness a plus-one in your relationships.

From a social media standpoint, being petty is hilariously unifying. It brings Black Twitter together, garnering LOLs, thousands of RTs and shared screenshots within the squad. From every Beyoncé meme to the Michael Jordan crying face, the amount of pettiness flooding timelines is comedic gold, but the joke stops when you create a second, secret Twitter account to stalk your ex’s page after he blocks you. Just two years ago, I was on a similar diabolical mission to outpetty a few people who shall remain nameless. I spent too many hours seeking vengeance against f–kboys and people who simply breathed at me the wrong way, instead of just letting that hurt go. Not only did I think being the pettiest version of myself was cute (don’t judge me!), I was consumed by frivolous thoughts that, in many ways, paralyzed my relationships with everyone from my romantic partners to my business partners.

I’m not going to lie: it feels so damn good to be petty. At the time, I wondered why more people weren’t doing so. Why isn’t this more of a thing? Well, probably because treating people like they’re insignificant pawns in your get-back game has shameful consequences. For instance, you shouldn’t respond to your man not answering your call by using Beyoncé’s “Sorry” lyrics to subtweet him.

Trust me, I’m on no soapbox here. Show me anyone who says they’ve never done a petty act, and I’ll show you a liar. I haven’t met a woman yet who doesn’t possess equal, if not more, amounts of petty than a 50 Cent Instagram meme, myself included. It’s just that not everyone understands how unnecessary it is to dish out such cheap shots.

And truth be told, being petty drains you of your positive personal energy and isn’t worth how bad you can potentially make others feel. More often than not, it’s just a cover-up for hurt feelings. I’m pretty sure Blac Chyna would’ve rather talked things out and received an apology than to resort to complete petty infiltration into the Kardashian circle. And though her comeback isn’t any less funny, hopefully, she’ll pack away her future petty for her child’s sake.

So yeah, tweet away about being proudly petty. Shoot, it’s funnier if you pair your petty declaration with a gif. But don’t pull those shallow stunts into your real-life interactions with other people, because the only thing you’ll get in return is a boatload of drama.

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