It's inevitable that friendships will develop in life. Friends play a big role in living. Some, however, have a detrimental impact on a person. To create the proper friendships that are advantageous, the process of friendship formation must be very thorough. The best friends at school are those who inspire one to achieve better and develop emotionally. Any friendship that compromises a person's values is not time well spent. Many acquaintances aren't really friends. Such individuals merely attend celebrations and depart as soon as difficult circumstances arrive. The ideal time to distinguish between true friends and fake ones is during difficult times. In my life, I learned the true nature of my friends the hard way. However, I made a solemn decision to eliminate all unproductive friendships and concentrate on being the real me.
Back in high school, I was part of a group of friends with whom we interacted most of the time. During formation of the friendship, I intended to create a study group that would help us in raising our performance in class. In the group, we were four girls from the same class. In such groups, the decision made by the majority becomes law since no one wants to oppose the majority. Therefore, I was never in a position to make independent decisions since the team dictated the actions undertaken by the majority. I do not recall a single time when the group proposed we meet over the weekend and study. All the meetings involved going to the mall and having fun. At some point, I became uncomfortable; however, I believed in the friendship and decided to hold on and hope for the best.
The company I was having started affecting my performance. In class, my attention to the teacher was minimal. I recall anticipating for the lessons to end so that we can run our group errands with the team. The teams made me forget the primary reason for being in school. I forgot my career objectives and the advice my parents gave me on my first day in high school. I recall my dad advising me to avoid the company that shifted my focus from education. However, the advice was not meaningful to me at the time. I continued staying with the group and losing myself slowly. At home, I began having issues with my parents. My deteriorating grades made my parents angry, and they started enforcing strict rules at home, but my friends advised me to defy the rules and live freely.
One day, I took me time to reflect on my life. I needed to scrutinize my life and determine if I was heading in the right direction. The first thing to consider was my academic performance. I realized a steady drop in my grades. The low grades saddened me a lot. I knew I had the potential to perform better. However, the grades did not reflect my potential. The second point of scrutiny was the relationship with my parents. I realized that the number of issues with my parents was increasing on a daily basis. During my free time, I preferred chatting with the friends as opposed to helping with chores at home or studying. After a keen analysis of my life, I came to the realization that the bright life I anticipated was fading slowly. I had to make a decision; a resolution to save the sinking boat before the situation goes overboard. It was now or never.
All my problems emanated from the friends. My first step was to make peace with my parents. I remember asking for forgiveness from my parents for the unappreciative daughter I was at the time. I felt emotional realizing the sadness I had brought to my family using the company. After the reconciliation, I locked myself into my room and constructed my timetable for studies. I promised myself to adhere to the program at all times. It was time to make independent decisions and take full control of my life. Therefore, I ended the friendship with the team. I stopped going out with them and terminated all forms of communication with the team. Despite their efforts of luring me into the team, they did not succeed. I became the pilot of my life and the determiner of my destination. From that day, the group mentality left my mind, and I became independent.
One of the most important lessons that the experience gave me was that friends are very instrumental in determining your future. A good company will motivate an individual into a stronger academic focus and career growth. However, wrong friends derail an individual from fulfilling his/her aspirations in life. More so, parents are an important part. They advise the children according to the experience they have in life. My decision to end the friendship was the best. I ended up succeeding in high school and proceeding to college. If I did not change the company, it is possible that I could not be in college. Therefore, I decided to be very cautious of the friendships I make to ensure that I attain my career goals and maintain the good relationship with my parents.
