Got rejected by my druggy friends as they gradually transitioned from beer and pot and skipping school to hard drugs and criminal activity. I was scared of that path and scared of getting in trouble. They started meeting up without me, laughing about me, asking to stay at my house but actually just using that as a cover for whatever, etc. It hurt to be abandoned by them.

But 15+ years later, they are in rehab, working shitty jobs if at all, the state has taken their kids, their spouses are locked up, their teeth are falling out, they live in trailers and halfway houses and parent's basements, they are on parole and probation, they have ugly faded amateur tattoos and they still dress like Hot Topic kids.

I'm not a rockstar or an astronaut or rich, but I'm OK. I'm happily married to a nice man with a job that doesn't involve dogfighting or drugs. I have two beautiful, happy kids. I work hard in a rewarding job. I have a nice house and a rose garden and a guest house where I sat up an art studio for us and the kids just because I wanted to. My friends are lovely and kind and thoughtful.

I never say a word about it, and I am polite and nice to my old friends, but living well really is a fantastic revenge.