I am a female Student, recently started wearing my natural curly hair instead of straightening it. I finally learned how to take care of it properly after years of not knowing what to do with it. I feel confident and happy with how it looks now.

My friend (let’s call her Mary) has always been the one who got attention, especially for her very pretty curly hair. Back when we were younger, people were obsessed with her looks and constantly complimented her hair. Meanwhile, I was basically invisible (My hair was frizzy and only wavy at that point), but it never really got to me because I wasn’t trying to compete and tbh my friend is really pretty so I understood why she got attention.

But here’s some context: Mary has a long history of toxic behavior. She’s ONLY dated guys she knew I liked and If that would've Happend 1-3 times I wouldn't have cared but she did It 5 times. And during one of our fights a few years ago, she erased me from a group picture and glued another friend’s face over mine. That fight eventually passed, and we’ve been good friends again for a while.

Now that I’m getting attention for my curly hair, Mary has started acting cold and making mean comments like:

• “And she still won't Stop being a dumb copycat"
• “It’s kinda funny how people only notice you now"
• “I guess some people need fake curls to get noticed.
• “Her Hair is probably fake and not actually curly”

Mary even joked to someone, right in front of me, “She’s just trying to copy me from back in the day.” Like… what am I doing wrong??

I get that its hard for her but she still gets lots of attention.

I honestly didn’t expect any of this. I’m not trying to take anything away from her. I’m just finally embracing how I look naturally. But now I’m getting side eyes and mean comments from her just for being confident in myself. Idk am I taking away her Attention or is she overreacting. I Love her as a friend and idk am I the asshole?