In 2015, while traveling through Europe, a European friend asked me a question that caught me completely off guard:
“So Kennedi, how many enemies have you made in your life so far?”
At that time, I wasn’t very active on social media. My life was quieter, more personal, and less entangled in the digital noise. So without hesitation, I answered, “None.”
He smiled knowingly and replied, “Then you haven’t really lived your life.”
That remark stayed with me. At first, I dismissed it as a cultural difference—maybe Europeans were more confrontational or more open about their rivalries. But as the years passed, and especially after immersing myself in the whirlwind of social media, his words began to echo with greater clarity.
Because here’s the truth: if you express yourself boldly, if you stand for something, if you voice opinions that challenge the herd—you will inevitably make enemies. Not because you set out to, but because friction is the natural byproduct of authenticity.
Social media has made this reality unavoidable. Every post is an invitation for agreement or attack. Every opinion is a lightning rod. You can’t share your truth without someone somewhere feeling threatened, offended, or provoked.
And yet, that’s precisely where the living happens. The debates, the disagreements, the unfollows, even the outright hostility—they all signal that you are visible, relevant, and unafraid to take up space in the world.
So today, nearly a decade after that conversation, I can say with conviction:
Yes, I have made enemies. Not out of malice, but out of the courage to live my life in full view.
Because a life without a few enemies isn’t really a life lived at all—it’s a life hidden in the shadows of silence.