How people around us can hurt or (hopefully) help

I am a huge believer that the people you surround yourself with makes a HUGE impact on your life.  Although right now I live with approximately 350 freshman Drexel students, so it might be better to talk about who I emotionally surround myself with.

One of my resolutions this year was to be a better friend.  I think I've already learned a little bit about what that's going to be like.  When words are genuine, when they come from the heart, you are a good friend.  When you feel like you have to lie to not hurt your friends feelings, you are not a good friend.  I know its hard to hear negative remarks about yourself (hello- I would be the girl who cried in front of her manager after she received the first piece of constructive criticism in 9 months), but sometimes they are best when they come from the people that know you best.

Paragraph 1 + Paragraph 2= in order to be a great friend, surround yourself with people you can truly be honest with, and people you trust will be honest back at you.  Girls have boyfriends and Grandma's to tell them how great they are and that even after the addition 10lb gain from the holidays, they hardly notice an extra ounce. If you think about what is important to you (example- health, career, independence, emotional intelligence, happiness), its easy to see if you are on the same page as the people around you.  THINK about it.  Is it easier to go on a diet when you are around someone who eats healthy all the time, or eats junk food all the time?  Maybe you have better will power than I, but I find myself truly drooling when my dear friend is eating junk food.  The drooling effect can be comparable to that of a not-so-great friend finally pushing you to do not-so-great things.

I think this is the hardest part of life.  It's terribly hard to find good friends.   After 4 years of college, I find myself with a select few.  I have tons of acquaintances, but the people I really let effect me- well there are about a dozen or so.  Sometimes its lonely, but at the end of the day I like it.  I like that the people in my life push me to become a better person.  And I like that (as harsh as it sounds), I've been able to successfully stop drooling at certain junk food eaters, if you know what I mean.