u/KeptTexture11

So this happened this morning and I'm still thinking about it.

I had to drop my sister at school, and on the way I had to pick up two other students from the next bus stop. They are the children of a family friend, so I know them.

It was raining, so I slowed down, put the hazard lights on, and the two kids started getting into the back seat.

Then this middle-aged woman suddenly came up to the car and started getting in too. She casually asked, "Can you drop me at the junction?"

My sister nodded yes, I gave her a stare and I asked the lady "Who are you?"

She said she was the neighbour of those two kids.

The kids also said yes, so I thought okay, they know her. I wasn't really interested in giving her a lift, but it was raining, and she said she had missed her bus and needed to get to the bank urgently.

So I dropped her at the junction. She said thanks and left.

A little later, I asked the kids, "Who was that woman?"

They said:

"We don't know her. We've only seen her at the bus stop."

I was like WHAT???

I had assumed they actually knew her when they said yes. Apparently, they just recognized her from the bus stop.

I got really angry and scolded them because, seriously, what if something had happened? A complete stranger just got into the car because she said she was their neighbour.

I also scolded my sister because she nodded yes without actually knowing the woman. Although, looking back, I think she probably just assumed the woman was someone the other kids knew.

The funny thing is, the woman was completely normal and confident. She just came in because of the rain, started talking normally, explained that she missed her bus, needed to go to the bank, etc. Nothing about the situation felt weird at the time.

But afterward I kept thinking about it.

Nothing happened, thankfully. But damn, we really shouldn't have assumed she was safe just because the kids said yes...

I recently went to my college counsellor for career guidance. During our sessions, I also shared some personal issues, including lack of motivation, not wanting to come to college, relationship problems, etc. She repeatedly assured me that whatever I shared would remain confidential.

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Today, one of my friends told me that during her own counselling session, the counsellor mentioned a student from another department who had similar career-related doubts. My friend guessed it was me, and according to her, the counsellor confirmed that it was when she specifically told my name.

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What bothers me more is that after confirming my identity, the counsellor apparently asked my friend why I'm not interested in coming to college. I told the psychologist that i find my collage so boring and unsupportive and what all things I feel about the collage.

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As far as I know, no sensitive details were disclosed, but I still feel uncomfortable because my identity was revealed and I was discussed during another student's session.

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Am I overreacting, or is this a legitimate breach of trust/confidentiality? I'm now worried because I've shared very personal information with this counsellor in the past.