I’m a grade 12, almost done high school. This guy has been my friend since sixth grade. From sixth to eighth grade we were literally best friends, had a lot in common, could discuss a variety of subjects and never get bored, etc. He was an awesome guy back then. Then the pandemic hit in the second half of eight grade and we didn’t see each other in-person until grade 10. When we finally met each other in-person (after like 18 months) something seemed a bit off about him. We still got along pretty well in grades 10 and 11, but now that I’m in grade 12, I’m starting to dislike the guy a bit and I don’t think we’ll hang out a lot after high school.
For one, he constantly talks about politics. I mean, when we were younger, we shared an interest in and discussed geopolitics, history, etc. and played games like HOI4 together, but we also had other interests too. I hate to say it so bluntly, but this guy will not shut up about politics. I mean, I have an interest in that too, but it feels draining when that’s all he talks about. We could be discussing something as irrelevant like what food the cafeteria is serving and he will tie politics to it somehow. I can not discuss anything else with him; I tried to tell him but he won’t listen. Whenever we talk about politics I just say, “yeah”, “okay”, “hmmm” because it’s so draining. He keeps telling me that he’ll run as a Member of Parliament in the 2025 election also (I’m from Canada btw). He was really studious and smart in elementary school but now he doesn’t even feel like going to university and is just fixiating on becoming a politician at age 18-19.
Another thing is that some of his actions just make me feel embarrassed to be around him. Like when he sneezes, he doesn’t cover up, and he sneezes all over the floor and sometimes people. Additionally, in one of my classes, every single day, he not only waits outside the door for me until we’re dismissed (he usually does this for the last 5 minutes of my class), but he actually walks through the door and stands right beside my desk (teacher is not that strict and is a longterm sub so he doesn’t really care lmao). And then the entire class is looking at me like “wtf?” I don’t have the guts to tell him to not do that.
I feel like an arse writing this because he does not have many friends but we just do not have that much in common. He’s obsessed with one particular thing and we can’t discuss anything else.
So yeah, I feel like a jerk posting this but I honestly don’t know what to do. Any advice? He’s still a nice guy but I kinda feel embarrassed/self-conscious hanging out with him.