Dear Grandmother,

I'm being eaten alive by research, word counts, a wholesome amount of deadlines and family pressures. The workload at uni right now isn't as bad as it was before, but I'm super stressed lately because I've been working more and people like you make my heart hurt.

I know that's not a very nice thing to say.

But since my parents have separated, I have reason to believe that you are spreading terrible rumours about my mother. You're horribly judgmental about everyone, my mother, le boyfriend for example.

You're totally obsessed with one of my friend's mothers, who seems to meddle in our family business quite a lot just by circumstance, which only fuels your gossip even more and it's a horrible situation for me to be in because I have to live with all this gossip and people asking me questions about 'what really happened' between my parents.

It's pretty simple, dad was unfaithful, mother and father didn't get along, and I think you remain an eternal  gossip machine for eternity. Rumours like my mother having a boyfriend, dad never cheating, it was just harmless flirting, mother was psycho crazy and bitched about everyone. I don't see why two sides of the family couldn't just simply treat each other a little better and sort things out.

I do wish dad hadn't cheated, and you were a little more concerned about everyone's welfare instead of just focusing on your son and your side of the family and treating my mother like shit. I wish my mother hadn't gossiped so much either, for your sake. But we're only human, everyone's reputation is ruined anyway.

But even still. I had expected that after the separation was over and dad moving out would be a good thing. That both sides would leave each other alone and stop creating a crazy whirlwind of a horrid adventure for all of us. But no, rumours keep coming.

According to what I've heard you say, sexism is awesome. Men should be breadwinners, women should remain in the kitchen, pop out babies and raise them. You love your own bloodline so much you fail to recognise anyone outside of the family. I think you need to be more open minded. You lean towards misogyny, that you are worthless if you lose your virginity before marriage, that girls shouldn't date measly boys who are tattooed. I wonder what you would do to me if you found out that I am everything you would never want in a granddaughter. You judge people on their social standing and their education. Someone who dropped out of high school is a bad person, and those who have phDs are better than everyone else. Be a doctor. Why don't you study accounting? There's good money in it.

It's a lot of pressure for me, and sometimes you;re just plain mean. Several years ago, you gave me an expensive dress as a gift, now you ask me to return it to you because I've gained weight since then and want to give it to someone else because they would make better use of it. It's so horribly rude, I was speechless. I told you I might still fit in it, I'll try it on when I have the time. But you had to insist that I don't have any use of it anymore.

Why are you claiming your granddaughter's clothing? It's rather rude and cold hearted of you.

You were such a warm, forgiving and loving person when I was young and ignorant.

I apologise that this is such a sad and rude post. But this is what I see and think of you. Correct me if I'm wrong, please, I wish you would.