Influences

One thing that I have been overly contemplating over these last couple of days is influences. I've noticed that everything we do influences someone around us to make a change, small or large, good or bad. I don't think that we as young people realize how much we affect those around us. As we're growing up and trying to discover who we want to become and what will take us there, we try to surround ourselves with others who want the same things as us so that hopefully we will build each other up (or break each other down, depending.) so that we can reach our goals, whatever they may be. But some outside force, person, movie, song, book, anything really can alter a person's view on life and what they want. Which scares me a little bit, because anyone can be drastically changed by one person. And though we'd like to say that these people change us for the better, they usually don't. Which scares me even more.
As I have watched friendships form and crumble, I notice a strange consistency: when friends are fighting, it's usually over something that one of the friends did or said. That's obvious. But the friend who did the thing that hurt the other person won't accept what they did wrong and as the friendship ends, the one who did nothing wrong moves on to bigger and better things. But the one who wouldn't accept what they did wrong and apologize moves on to friends who aren't as good as influences as the old ones. I want to know what makes us do that; move onto friends and relationships that alter what we do in a bad way. As humans we want to be accepted obviously, but we also want to stand out. So I guess we rebel and feel that that is the only way we can be different.

I'm really animate about this topic right now, so this post is going to be really long. I apologize.

I hope that I am a good influence on my friends. But even if I'm not perfect, I can still notice when there's someone in their lives that is causing them to do things they wouldn't normally do. And I work pretty hard to make sure I don't do anything that would pull my friends down, I always try (TRY) to build them up. I've noticed though that if I take them one step in the right direction a bad influence takes them three steps back and I have to work at it again just to bring them back to where they were. I've also seen times when one person's decision, only slightly involving another person causes that person to completely alter their life and their morals because of their one decision.
And the last thing I wanted to talk about was keeping our guard up. These bad things sneak into our lives so easily and quickly we don't even know what hit us. It honestly starts with something so small, but the poison that we allow in our lives can quickly multiply so that the one small thing that was okay causes another small thing to be okay and it just keeps going from there until you're lost.
So basically, don't listen to the old saying "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer". Try this one instead, "Keep all the bad stuff, yuckiness, and poison very far away so it can't touch you, and keep your good friends and influences closer, much, much closer."
Incredibly Tired-ly,
Rachel