#ThatAwkwardMomentWhen. . .

You Realize Your Friend Been Frontin on Social Media. A few weeks ago I met a friend of mye friend. They were friends in high school and had just started hanging out together again. For those of you doing the math it means she wasn't my friend but I had an obligation to be nice and cordial to her because of our mutual friend. Its because she is so far removed from MY circle that I can write this sans a guilty conscience. 

That night we all went out to eat and before I got home I had a new Facebook friend request from her. Don't you love those types? I accepted her request and did what everyone else does: sifted thru her pics. What did I see? Gucci this and Michael Kors that. All the labels hood chicks love to show off. Stay away from Tory Burch. No matter what she claimed the photo was showing off, she always found a way to show off her labels. Oh, but it ain't trickin if you got it. My "frontin" radar was goin crazy. I found myself wondering if she lived in income restricted housing LOL! My thoughts are evil. Don't let me corrupt you. She took pics of her food at fancy restaurants and changed her profile pic way too often to have a real life. She is 29. Oh yea, I judged her. To be fair, 29 IS the last year you get a pass. 

Looking at those pics of her "luxury life" (no really an album was called that) all I could think about was how she stiffed the waiter on the tip and complained about her half eaten pasta just so she didn't have to pay for it. She claimed it was nasty but Raine Lali Gabrielle always peeps game. Word was she knew all week about that dinner and I was the only last minute invite. All of that notice and she arrived saying, "Oh I'm not that hungry imma just order an appetizer and see how I feel." She was husky and sizey (big & tall) tho so I refused to believe she could ever NOT be "that hungry." You don't get husky eatin appetizers. She struck me immediately as one of those people who will try to get outta payin the bill. For those thinkin I'm a harsh ass hater, she tried to get the appetizer taken off after she ate it. This really happened. She then ordered pasta and complained about it to the manager when someone else had the same pasta & said it was fine. You could tell her emphasis was on eliminating the bill and not on her meal. 

This is why waiters hate black people but I'm chillin on that point. We were all embarrassed, but no one spoke of it. I didn't think it was my place to check her and when no one said anything I took that to mean this was normal behavior for her. On top of that she had a list of reasons why she refused to tip our waiter. The rest of us "tipped for the race" and called it a night. Why would she come out to eat if she couldn't afford an entree and tip? 

She was not my friend (had to say that again), but she is the first social media fronter I met in real life. You never forget your first time. If you judged her by her Facebook life you would think she really had it together. You would think you could go out to eat with her and she could afford to pay her bill. You would think she tipped at least 18% even if the service was terrible. You would think her college experience would have taught her about tact and couth. Her Facebook life was not her real life tho. I giggled everytime I saw her postin pics with a Neiman Marcus bag on her arm. I should note she had that 47in 1080p TV tho. Thats relevant.

Just like a true woman, I used the perils of another woman to make my point. Its what we do. 

Understand there are different types of fronters. Your experience may not be like mine. Your experience may have involved someone who is a club fronter-they post pics of themselves in VIP w/bottles but they never have money to buy their own. Your experience may involve someone who is a school fronter-they're financially stable as long as those financial aid checks are rolling in. Buying bottles with Auntie Sallie Mae's money. Your experience may even be with a job fronter-someone who acts like a bawse but they can't pull strings to get you an interview OR someone who claims they're so busy because of work to make themselves seem more in demand. Still, there are relationship fronters-people who post EVERYDAY about how "happy" they are and give others advice when their relationship is shot to shit. 

There aint no future in ya frontin. We're all at an age where we are in limbo with our careers, family decisions, etc. Its ok to feel insecure about it. Don't lose yourself trying to live a life you can't afford just so you can impress people who don't give a shit. Que Sera, Sera. 

Do y'all know any fronters? Have you had any bad experiences with social media fronters? Y'all wanna talk about black people & tipping at restaurants or nah? 

Twitter: @LegallyRatchet1