When I first started college, I made a lot of new friends. I was never in my dorm room, but always going to visit one of the many friends I made. I always ate dinner with large groups of friends. And I went everywhere with them. This isn't a bad thing. Plenty of people do this and there's nothing wrong with being a very social person. But, sometimes there is something wrong with the people you spend your time with. That's the problem I had, and I didn't realize it until my sophomore year of college.

There are many different types of toxic friends. Some may be a bad influence on you, some may get you in trouble, and others may bring you down. But the bottom line is: none are good for you.

Today many college students, if not most, party, drink alcohol on a regular basis, smoke, and do many other types of drugs. What people do in their free time is their business, but if what your friends do interferes with your lifestyle, then that should raise a red flag.

I personally do not drink very often and do no drugs. I see them both as harmful to my body. I want to keep my body healthy and not consume things that will hurt my body later in life. Well, it's college. These were two activities happening everywhere when I first started my freshman year. My thought was that same as I mentioned before: it's their business; they can do what they want. I think about all of my friends but two or three did all sorts of drugs and partied hard on the weekends. And let me remind you, I had a lot of friends.

It came to the point where I realized some of these so called "friends" of mine were pressuring me to join in these activities that I didn't like. Come the end of my freshman year, I began to spend time with them less and less if I knew that they would just be drinking or doing drugs or both. This is when these friends would begin to get mad at me for not wanting to do these things with them. Obviously, that didn't help the situation. Upon seeing who they truly were, I spent time with them less, even if it really was just to eat dinner together or go to the movies. They were a terrible influence and affecting my lifestyle in a harmful way. By my sophomore year of college, I had cut out of my life the friends who would pressure me to drink and do drugs with them.

But those weren't the only friends I cut out of my life sophomore year. I had other toxic friends, but these ones were toxic in a different way.

Many of my other friends at the time were very rude, disrespectful, and just plain mean. We all know those people who make fun of their friends, because they think it is funny, but claim to be joking. Those are the type of friends I'm talking about.

Many of my friends, mostly guys, were like this. They would make fun of me, or be mean to me, and sometimes didn't even acknowledge I was there. It wasn't just me. They did this to another one of my friends, who was like me (didn't drink or do drugs). It was only us that they treated this way and they thought it was hilarious. Of course, they claimed to be joking and having a good time. If you're joking about something like that, then why would you do it in the first place?

I mentioned the one friend that they would also treat this way. Well, we would talk about them and how we didn't appreciate the way they treated us, even if they claimed to be joking. The problem is that my friend was a pushover. She wasn't going to do anything about the situation. Eventually, I told her I was going to cut them out of my life and I encouraged her to do that same thing. But, she couldn't do it. To this day that makes me sad for her, because she is still friends with these people who don't treat her right. I cut them out of my life, and no matter how hard I tried to convince her that they weren't any good for her, she wouldn't do anything about it. But, there is only so much you can do, and in the end it was her decision to keep toxic people in her life.

Those were the two main groups of friends I cut out of my life my sophomore year of college. As I mentioned before, it was one of the best things I have ever done. That year, I was left with only a few friends, but I realized something: I was so much happier. I had kept my kind and loving friends and that is what mattered. It isn't the quantity of friends that you have, but the quality of the friends. That year was a life changing year for me. Since then, I have only made friends with people who accept me for who I am and that are kind and respectful. It has made me life so much happier and I wouldn't change a thing that i did.

The point of this story: cut your toxic friends out of your life. Whether you have a lot like I did, or just a few, I promise that it will affect your life for the better. You will be happier once they are out of your life and will be able to start living how you want to without the stress of having them there.