Association, along with priority, are powers that greatly influence your life. There always be something to be said about individualism, but who you associate with will reflect your own personal values. It will shape you, it can change your outlook on life, and it will affect your other relationships. “You are the company you keep.” When you choose your friends, you need to first assess yourself and who you are, and who you want to become. Your “company” is the people that have the most influence over you, and vice-versa. These people will have the most influence over you through peer pressure. Because of this, it is important to be careful who you are friends with. You especially need to understand your priorities in life. Priorities are the stepping stones to success. If you don’t have them, it will be very hard to reach the top. Once you have figured this out, only then will you be able to correctly choose who you want to befriend. It is important to know and understand the morals and desires and beliefs of who you are connecting with, and how it could affect you. Friends have a huge influence on your life, and you also have influence on other people, so think about your words, actions, and what you represent. I think that this quote and its surrounding idea is a major key in high school. It can make your life easier and more relaxing, or harder and more stressful. Who you associate yourself with, who you call your friends, your bros, your buds, represents who you are to your parents, your peers, and to your teachers. It can change how other people think of you, and it can also influence your beliefs and actions. I have seen many times people having a negative influence in their life, only to cave in and go against their morals. It’s very easy to, because many people take the easy way through high school- they don’t care too much about grades, and inversely, they care more about their social life, like drama and gossip. This is also responsible for why some people “change” in high school. This idea of association, perception, and influence is difficult for a majority of students to grasp because they only see short term and have different priorities. I have witnessed the effects of negative peer pressure on my cousin. He is three years older than me, and when he was in high school, I saw him change dramatically. Entering freshman year, he was my role model. I looked up to him because he was focused, outgoing, kind, and respectful to everyone he encountered. He played varsity baseball as a freshman. He really did seem to have it all. But by second semester of sophomore year he had fallen in with the wrong crowd. He got in a huge fight with all of his old friends, and became distant from his family. He got kicked off of the baseball team junior year because he was caught with drugs. He had alienated everyone close to him and his future. His grades dropped. His family was stressed. He changed. Senior year he overdosed on heroin and was rushed to the hospital. He has been in rehab since he got out. Talking to his old friends, they said that he lost all of his values when he became friends with the wrong crowd and that it was impossible to get through to him, as if it was the drugs was who was talking back. Whenever I visit my cousin, he tells me that the most important thing to do in high school is surround yourself with good influences. He always says “Don’t become like me”.
Find your own values, and stick to them as best you can. High school is already stressful enough, and who you are close to can make it much more pleasant. If you associate and become close to people with the same values, you won’t have to worry about them changing. If you play your cards right, your company will keep you.