Blog #10

I was looking on the web for more links I could post on this blog, and I came across the article, "Friends are Crucial to a Successful College Experience" by David Morisette.  http://www.cw.ua.edu/2010/08/19/friends-are-crucial-to-a-successful-college-experience-3/  He explains that human beings need relationships to survive and why friendships are so important to us during this transition period in our lives.  There is one part where Morisette states that, "If you feel that you cannot be everything you are with your current clique, then it is high time to find a new one."  This is something that a lot of younger people have a problem grasping.  You might've made a bunch of friends in that period of time when you were desperate to fit in, or maybe you had a friend who was friends with other people, causing you to grow close with them as well.  This happens sometimes and people eventually grow up and learn that maybe they didn't make the right choice in befriending a particular person.

This realization came for me sporadically during my high school career and took complete control during my senior year.  I had friends who I had been close to for years and years, but as I grew up I realized that, maybe they weren't putting in the same amount of effort as I was for the friendship, or just that they didn't have my best interests in mind when they made choices involving me.  Whatever the reason, I had to make a choice.  I was about to graduate and move away for college and it was a decision I had to make of who I was going to keep in my life and who I was not.  This automatically happens with us for more acquaintance type friends, but not many people have the courage to do this with their current best friends.  It might take a lot for you to finally put your foot down and say, "We've been through a lot together, and it seemed like you were there for me at one point in time, but now I'm realizing that you just aren't, and I don't need that in my life."

This is another reason why starting new relationships in college is so important; it's your second chance.  After high school, you have a pretty good idea of the types of people you do and don't want in your life now, and you can use all of those past experiences to start over and get what you truly want in life.  I got a fortune cookie a few months back that read: "You don't get in life what you want; you get in life what you are."  It is one of my favorite quotes because it explains to us that every decision we make reflects who we are, so we cannot blame anyone else for anything that happens and we are constantly having to work to get "what we are," shown :)