Everyone has had them around at one point or another. Toxic people are everywhere. They are those in your life, by choice or not, that just aren't good for you. No matter how much convincing either of you does. These can be in relationships, friendships, or even your family.

They are not good for you. Their personalities paired with yours is just not a good combination. Being around them makes it hard for you to grow and mature. However, that is not saying they are bad people. It's similar to the way that some people are allergic to peanut butter, but others are not. If you're allergic to it, you're not going to keep eating it, because bad things happen. Even though it tastes good, the combination of you and the peanut butter doesn't go well, and nothing good comes out of it. That's how it is with people. If they're bad for you, don't keep them there.

Try to surround yourself with people who build you up, support you, and are willing to be the hand to pull you up when you fall. Even when they told you not to take that last shot, they'll be a shoulder to lean on when your own legs are just too tired to keep going. (Literally and figuratively.)

Avoid the people who are constant complainers.

Let's be honest, we are all complainers. It's just something in our nature. When it's too hot outside, or when it's too cold outside, or when the humidity turns your hair into an afro, or when you simply just have to go to class when you did not want to get out of bed whatsoever. We all carry negativity sometimes, and that's okay. However, the people who have nothing positive to say about anything at all, you don't want them in your life. Sometimes, we just have bad days. Let's say you bombed a big exam, you tripped up the stairs, and you dropped your coffee on your way to class. Your friends should be there to hug you, buy you a new coffee, and laugh at the fact that you fell up the stairs (not immediately afterwards, of course). They shouldn't continue the conversation with how their day was worse, because they couldn't find the right sweater they wanted to wear.

Avoid people that don't believe in you.

Sometimes we set crazy goals for ourselves, goals that seem unattainable. The people that are close to you should support you no matter what. That being said, they should be willing to give you constructive criticism, too. For example, let's say one day you decide to change your major to Biochemistry. Your friends should be there to politely remind you that you hate science with a passion, but they should never, ever pull you straight to the ground when you're up on cloud-nine about your new self discovery. Not only is it rude, but it breaks the dreamer in you as well.

Avoid people who make you feel bad about yourself.

This seems like an obvious one, but it's quite possibly one of the hardest to avoid. I think this is because you don't necessarily realize that it's happening. But you gradually feel worse about yourself when you're around them. If they make little comments about your weight, that's a big sign. If they make side comments about something in your appearance at all, you need to let them go. You, as a person, are your personality. You are the good things you do for people, and you are the happiness you make others feel. You are not defined by how well your jeans fit or how noticeable your lazy eye is when you laugh. The kind of people who make you feel as if you are defined by how you look to them are people you don't want to keep with you.

Toxic people are not ones you will want to keep with you long-term. Relationships and friendships shouldn't be forced, and they shouldn't feel like work. It's all natural and should make you feel the best you can be. Most importantly, don't settle for toxic people in your life just because you don't feel you deserve anything better. Definitely don't have the mindset that you won't find anything better than what you've found so far, because you will. Really great things are tough to find, but it will be worth the search.