Friends for the Better

Who you surround yourself with is so important. When I was younger this is something I didnt think about at all. It never occurred to me how much your friends can influence you. And when you're young for the most part you don't care. You think I am who I am no one can change me! Which is true in a sense Only you can dictate your own life but who you surround yourself with can definetly effect who you allow yourself to be.

This concept can be even little things like picking up new music or hobbies your friends like because they introduced it to you. When you surround yourself with good people who do good things and are kind it inspires you to do the same. Who you choose to be your friends can inspire you to be a better person. However, the same is true about negative people. If you choose to surround yourself with people who are lazy or unkind or have bad habits it can change your sense of what is ok and not ok. When first witnessing it you could think it's wrong or know it's not for you but if you continue to hang out with that crowd you can start to be desensitized to their bad habits and even participate. When you hang out with a group of people with the same bad habits it can seem like everyone is doing it so it can't be so bad. When I reality it's not everyone it's the group you chose to hang out with. It's like smoking cigerettes. If you are the only one who doesn't smoke and are the one left out of smoke breaks it can start to seem like it's not that bad and it's just social, but just because this group does it doesn't make it ok or healthy or less damaging to yourself. You've just become desenitized to it. Or a friend or group of friends who always has drama following them. If you surround yourself in that situation or those people you are going to find yourself with new found drama in your life too. So no your friends may not directly change you but they can definitely influence you and it might not be an immediate change in yourself but they can cause a change. This is why the saying "you are who you surround yourself with" is true but you may not see it right away. I'm not telling you to ditch every friend with a bad habit. Im just telling to try to be aware of this and choose your friends wisely. But if you have friends that pressure you to do things you shouldn't or are involved in things they shouldn't then maybe you shouldn't invest too much of your precious time with them. 

I've experienced both; friends who influenced me to be a better person and friends who influenced me to do or become desensitized by things I would have otherwise been against. Only you can decide who you are or who you want to become. Invest your time with people who will encourage you not bring you down. To be the best you, you need a good support team. You need good friends. I also encourage you to be the type of friend who encourages others and lifts them up instead of bringing them down maybe you can encourage some of the friends who have negative habits. 

Everyone in the photo at the beginning of this post has been a positive influence in my life. I've had a lot of good friends and good people have come into my life. These three lovely people have helped make me a better person and I'm glad that we crossed paths, you've been inspirational. If you have good positive influences in your life let them know and value that friendship. Be that friend for someone else.