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Trying to turn your grades around takes effort, especially when you are finally building study habits that actually feel like your own.

One 14-year-old carefully sets up her notebooks, but when her aunt insists on decorating one, would you keep saying no or let it slide?

She wakes up to find the exact changes she clearly asked her aunt not to make, turning a small craft project into a much bigger boundary issue.

See why one “improved” notebook caused such a messy reaction.

AITA for yelling at my aunt when she decorated my books for school?

I (14, F) go to summer school because I did very poorly in my classes last year.

This summer, I have tried to take the initiative to change.

I bought 10 composition notebooks and started researching study methods so I can perform more efficiently.

Her aunt picks her up from school.

Now, back to the summer school thing, my mum works long hours at her place of work, so my aunt (her sister) is the one to pick me up.

A few days ago, I had brought to my aunts one of my notebooks so I could study and take notes while at her house.

I had a few stickers on there, maybe 2-3.

A notebook is something very personal, and she decided to keep decorations to a minimum.

After studying, I left the book on her dining table and took a nap on the couch.

While I was laying down, she started looking at the notebook and kept saying things like “Oh its so lovely, I have the perfect scrapbooking tape to put on it,” or, “I’m gonna go get my crafting stuff to add things on it.”

I laughed and said No, that I liked my book the way it was.

She kept pushing and pushing for her to decorate it and it got to the point where I firmly tell her no, that I was happy with what my books looked like at the moment, and I would be very upset if she did something to it, and went to sleep.

Her aunt didn’t listen.

If upset was the only word to explain how I was feeling, It would still be an understatement.

I woke up and completely forgot about the book, and I only remembered when my mum picked me up and told me to collect my things.

I asked my aunt where she put my book, and she had a cheeky grin and said “Your new and improved book is over here” and she pulled it out.

Uh-oh.

I. was. furious.

The book wasn’t ugly, but still. She didnt listen to what I told her to do, and did the exact OPPOSITE.

I started yelling at her asking her “Why did you do that? I specifically told u not to. You waited until I fell asleep to do it?”

Her aunt seemed hurt.

She had a sad expression on her face, and that kinda made me feel bad, but it honestly was the last straw.

I got in the car and my mum God bless her soul was so tired, so all she told her sister was that when I tell her not to do something, she needs to listen and respect that.

I still feel bad I yelled at her, especially seeing her expression after.

AITA?

Although her aunt wanted to do something nice for her, she should have respected her belongings and her wishes.

Her aunt should definitely apologize.

Let’s see what Reddit had to say about this situation.

Simple like that.

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A reader shares their thoughts.

Some advice.

My thoughts, exactly.

Another commenter chimes in.

If you enjoyed this post, check out this story about a teenager whose family thinks she’s selfish for wanting to help plan her own sweet 16.

This commenter sums it up.

The notebook itself was not the real problem, because the aunt had been told several times to leave it alone.

Waiting until her niece fell asleep made the choice feel even more deliberate, which explains why the reaction came out so strongly.

Her mom handled it simply by reminding the aunt that “no” still counts when it comes from a teenager.

The decorations may have looked fine, but the consent sticker was definitely missing.

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Author

Chris Allen