“I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not for that handful of friends who have given me a heart full of joy. Let’s face it, friends make life a lot more fun”  –Charles R. Swindoll

One of the most important things I have ever made in my life are the relationships I have made throughout my life. Friends, family, mentors, and others we interact with can influence our own lives dramatically and for that reason I love meeting new people and making new friends. Do you ever think about how different your life would be if you had not met a certain person? I know personally that without my friends, I may have been totally different and would have lacked many of the main attributes that I feel define me. Many of my hobbies and interests started because my friends took part in or liked these things and I then picked up from them. I began playing lacrosse my freshman year of high school, never having played before, because a few of my friends were on the team. I tried it and loved it! I still play three years later. Many of the friends that I have made also encourage me to be a better person- both academically and morally. A lot of my friends are so intellectually gifted that their knowledge amazes me each day. I am lucky to have soaked up a bit of their knowledge and have used their ideas to stem my own. Their attitudes inspire me to work harder every day and I do not think I would have worked this hard during high school without their influence. I also look at my friends and am in awe of how giving they are. Some of my friends give up a lot of their time to help others whether volunteering or living their lives out in this way. Because of them, I have done my own volunteer work and have attended a mission trip in New York. They have made me become a better person. Even those that I have met through writinvg inspire me to express myself through writing. Without them, I do not think writing would so important to me today.

As a seventeen year old, I still have a lot of life left to live. I intend to continue to make many friends and cannot wait to see how their influence affects me.