In a normal day, we may talk to about 10 or 20 people. We may text more people than we meet in person, but we are bound to have a new and different conversation with each person we encounter. We might receive a daily call from our mom, a “Netflix and chill?” text from special person we are interested in, or a Facebook comment from our grandma who recently discovered Facebook. Regardless, no two days are ever the same.
As we continue our days, it is easy to overlook the impacts each person has on us. We can reread old text messages and look through photo albums to remember the memories we have made, but we often forget the unique impressions made by family, friends, and strangers.
Parents
Your day ones, literally. Whether they are your best friends or your worst enemies, parents teach us as much as they can about surviving in the world. Although we eventually move out of their houses, they continue to teach us by example. Our parents are not only our caregivers. They are our coaches, chefs, scout leaders, tutors, therapists, and number one fans. Not only did they drive us to every soccer game, they were the loudest fans on the sideline. As children, we admired their strength and protection. As adults, we appreciate their sacrifices. Although we disagree at times, it is important to remember that parents are much wiser than they seem.
Grandparents
Oh, grandparents. Bless their kind souls. They have finished raising their own children, and find joy in spoiling their grandchildren with hugs, gifts, and wisdom. If you are lucky enough to have a close relationship with your grandparents, you can understand the joy some feel by going to their house, eating grandma’s freshly baked cookies, and hearing them talk about how much they love you. They aid our parents in raising us and teach us lessons from their years of experience. They may slip in wise messages on our way to school, or while reading a book before bed. Nonetheless, they teach us to dream, cook, kayak, speak a new language, and explore many of life’s possibilities.
The Sibling Who Looks Up To You
It may seem surprising, but you must have done something right if they look up to you. This sibling may cling to your every move or watch you from afar. They might steal your clothes or change their hairstyle to resemble yours. Regardless, they teach us to be the best we can be. We don’t want them looking up to a trouble maker, so we try to be the best versions of ourselves, at least when they’re around. We take out the trash, study for tests, and always use the most appropriate language around them. If they’re going to be our mini-me's, they’re going to do it right.
The Sibling Who Fights With You
Whether they pick a fight with you while driving to school, spend too long in the bathroom, or use up all of the data in your family’s cell phone plan, you two always seem to have an issue. You constantly ask your parents if you can find a replacement sibling, but they remind you that you will need them for something in the future. Though they seem to make your life a living hell, they can teach us to handle conflict effectively. Maybe throwing a hairbrush at someone won’t solve all of your issues, but when your dad makes you two discuss your issues and “hug it out” after, you learn that there are solutions to many “unsolvable” problems.
Influential Teacher
As students, we may have negative feelings towards a teacher at the beginning of the semester. We may have read bad reviews on RateMyProfessor.com, or are not fond of the early class time. However, our mindsets may change the moment the teacher begins teaching. Their lecture can captivate our attentions and motivate us to work hard. We may even change out majors because the professor made the subject so interesting. Though we aimlessly take notes and do minimal work in many classes, it only takes one influential instructor to change our educational experience for the better.
First Boyfriend/Girlfriend
Whether you date them in preschool or high school, these people will make one of the biggest impacts on you. You may not end up marrying them, but they teach you about emotions, yourself, and relationships; all of which will help you in the future. You most likely will make mistakes, and the break up may be clean or very messy, but you will learn to care about others in a way you never have before. We learn to be selfless, to make time for others, to compromise, and to communicate our feelings over text messages when the distance is an issue (sigh, many relationships develop over texts these days). Out of all the people we date throughout our lives, their names and the lessons we learned with them will resonate with us forever.
College Roommate
These people may be our best friends or worst enemies. Whether we found them on the website that seemed like a matchmaking service or were randomly paired by the university, we all were optimistic about our future roommates. What could possibly be wrong with them? They seemed cool on Facebook, so we are obviously going to be best friends. Unfortunately, things don’t always work out as planned. They may have been smelly or messy. Their boyfriend or girlfriend may have become your second roommate. Regardless, we learn to become better roommates in the future by learning from their mistakes. We don’t want to be the reason someone hates coming home, therefore, we become cautious about our living habits and strive to be everything our awful roommate was not.
Best Friend of Opposite Gender
These people can be one of our biggest emotional support systems. We go to them for relationship advice so we can learn how the other gender thinks. They are also our reliefs. At times, we may be exhausted with "girl talk" or "bro time." Our best girl or boyfriends provide us with new perspectives and fresh conversations. They are there to protect us, listen, and be our dates to events when we are single. There may be times when we question your relationship with them, but we know they will always be there to listen to our issues, go on best friend dinner dates, and support us through the many questionable decisions we make.
The Athletic Friend
We all have that one friend who is constantly working out, starting a new fad diet, or wearing an outfit of solely Lululemon. Though they make us feel lazy for not hitting the gym at least once a day, they motivate to at least consider the gym. We go to them for tips about protein shakes and juice cleanses, and we seek their advice about ab workouts and weight training. They may motivate us to go on that dreaded run before work or class, but even though we hate them while we’re running, we are thankful they made us get up and get our work out in.
The Overachiever Friend
This person somehow seems to have their life together. As we struggle to balance school and work, they seem to have internships, dean’s list grades, promotions at work, and free time for social lives without ever breaking a sweat. They influence us to work on our time management skills and take on projects we would have never considered before. Although we know we may never live up to their potential, we are driven to improve ourselves because of their examples.
The Adventurous Friend
They are spontaneous, energetic, and the life of every party. We never know what to expect when spending a day with them. A simple trip to Starbucks could result in booking a skydiving experience the next week. They are our light in times of darkness. We can go to them to cheer us up because we know they will distract us with an outlandish activity or night on the town. They teach us to be carefree, wild at times, and to never take life too seriously. We thank them for the many smiles they give us, and the wild memories to look back upon when life gets boring.
The Irresistible
At one point or another, we all have had or will have that one person we just can not resist. We know nothing serious will ever come from them, but we are drawn to their presence. It may be that we are allured to them because they play hard to get, and we enjoy playing their game. Nonetheless, we continue to seek their company and hope that one day the stars will align and everything will fall into place.
The Stranger
Whether they are the barista that made us smile at the register or the person who gave you their extra Scantron before the midterm, strangers can make our days better than they once were. Kindness is contagious. If someone holds the door open for us, we are more likely to do the same for others. Yes, some strangers make us upset when they cut us off on the freeway, but we can learn from their mistakes and become better drivers in the future. We often forget how the many strangers around can make great impacts on us. Our friends were once strangers; our parents were once strangers before they started our families. We underestimate the influence we have on each other. A small gesture could lead to a smile or a lifetime of happiness.
