Who we are is still being determined everyday, but now other people are involved too. As long as we live, we are constantly changing for good and bad and molded by the people we choose to surround ourselves with. Without even realizing it, the people we are closest too have the most profound impact on mood and state of mind.

It’s hard to consider that you may not be the sole influence of where your life is going. I consider myself an independent person in charge of myself, so it’s difficult to resonate the fact that certain wants and needs vary depending on the person.

However, I’ve noticed my behavior has changed with each of the various groups I’ve associated myself with, constantly shifting since middle school. If I had a friend who was serious about maintaining their health it would cause me to want to be like that too. That’s an example of how other people influenced me in minor, possibly even beneficial ways but that’s not how it turned out every time I made a new friend.

It’s not just with me either as I have seen it happen to people close to me. Some of them used to be enthusiastic about school, took pride in their grades and were kind to everyone. Once they started associating with people who partied every weekend they started going to parties and one thing followed after another and you wouldn’t even recognize that person today. Getting into the wrong crowd and no longer taking pride in their future is how teens stray away from their goals they previously made.

Despite the fact that people around us can cause us to change, we always have the option to change back. It’s not a bad thing to re-evaluate who we let around us and it also doesn’t make you a cold person for choosing to cut someone off. There are times when we don’t realize that those toxic people are actually bringing us down and have no similar ambitions for the future causing a standstill.

No one wants to feel like they’re being held back by lazy habits, crude behavior and low standards implemented by the friends they chose. To be successful it’s important to surround yourself with those people who want to help you get there. An opportunity is always there to become a better person.

Sincerely,

Sydney