Oct
25 2008
Choosing
Your Friends Wisely.
This
is a life saving and survival skill for all
teenagers.
 I
vividly remember all of my mother’s
advice; look up, look down before crossing
the road, always put on clean underwear, and
brush my teeth after every meal?. Among the
most useful advice my mother ever gave me
was that same old line I keep hearing every
time, “Choose your friends wisely.”
At that tender age, I didn’t give it
much thought. As a little child, my friends
were not really chosen. They simply lived
nearby and were willing to play Barbies or
rasta and police. As long as we weren’t
getting in trouble, I viewed my friends as
wise choices. Through the years, I became
friends with those who had similar interests.
It wasn’t until last year at my first
year of college, that I realized that picking
friends isn’t only based on where you
live or the interests you hold near and dear.
A wise person chooses her friends because
she finds them vivacious, inspiring and positive.
They dare you to be a better person, and you
aid in their personal growth as well.
Perhaps it is really time for you to take
a long, hard look at those you choose as friends.
Are they allowing you to maintain your positive
spirit, or are they dragging you down to the
gutter with them? If we hope to maintain positive
thinking and inner happiness, we need to make
it our personal responsibility to choose our
friends wisely.
Don’t get me wrong; I am not recommending
you drop your existing friends. I am simply
suggesting you be on the lookout for “positive
souls” when meeting new people. Perhaps
a new friend with a vivacious, enriching spirit
will give you confidence to try new things,
or maybe you’ve always admired someone
for a long time and had always hoped to get
to know him/her better. Now is the time to
rise to an upper level and make friends with
those who will encourage your personal growth.
As young ladies and gentlemen, we spend a
lot of time making sure our relationships
are happy and healthy. Maybe it’s time
for us to transfer some of that energy into
friendships
as well. Our mothers would be soooo proud!
By
Cotney John |
