Definition: Given a real-life anecdote of a complex ethical situation, generate a suitable title that describes the main event/root cause of the situation. Imagine that the given text is a social media post, and you have to write the title of the post, so the users can decide to read the main text or not.
Input: tldr; my older cousin was hurt when I told her I didn’t want anyone to know that im graduating, and told her mom (my aunt) that I didn’t want her to attend the ceremony. 

the long-ish version:
a month back, I had submitted an application to graduate from college and in the moment, posted to snapchat that my application was processing. my older cousin saw this and texted me immediately, congratulating me and saying she will be coming up to celebrate (i live in northern california and she’s in southern california). 

I was a bit hesitant about this only because I had failed classes in the past and I wanted to wait until grades were solidified and I was set to pass them. I forgot I had her on my snapchat, but I only have her and 2 other extended family members who can see my snapchat stories. 

I told her it would be great if she came, and I thought that was the end of it. 

she contacted me again a couple days later, telling me that our uncle had asked why I didn’t tell anyone I’m graduating. I told her I wanted to keep it lowkey for now, seeing that I’m still in school and have a few more months of it to go. What i didn’t tell her (and in retrospect should’ve) is that I’m given a limited number of tickets for the ceremony itself, and it would be an incredible hassle to get extra from students who don’t need it. 

later on, my parents tell me the extended family in southern california all know and wanted to know why I didn’t tell them. I know for sure my parents didn’t mention anything to them, and im pretty much in disbelief at this point but I don’t let it bother me too badly, and reasoned that people knowing can’t be a terrible thing. 

Last weekend, i saw said extended family members and the aunt I mentioned earlier said “[older cousin] tells me you don’t want her to come to your graduation!” I was stunned and said I never said such a thing, only that I wanted to keep it a secret. it then snowballed into my parents inviting EVERYONE to come up to come see me, and they later tell me I need to at least secure 5 more tickets for the graduation ceremony (I’m given 7 by default).

I personally only wanted my immediate family to come to the ceremony (this includes my maternal grandparents, my parents, and my brother and sister), and have everyone come for a sort of graduation party. my mom asked me if i told my older cousin i didnt want her to come, and when i said no and told her i just wanted to keep it a secret, she said I couldve said it differently. But because i didnt, I hurt her feelings. 

I don’t know, I mean I guess it doesn’t seem like a huge deal, but the way she felt made me confused. I wonder if I couldve worded things better. AITA?




not telling any of my extended family members about my graduation ceremony