No man is an island—we are influenced heavily by the people in our lives. True friends, those that lift us up when life knocks us down, are rare and valuable things. Especially during the turmoil and confusion of adolescence, friends can mean the difference between failure and success. Succumbing to peer pressure and picking the wrong friends can destroy your future. How is someone a friend when they seek to see you fail? Real friends share in your triumphs as if they are their own.
- ”The only pressure I’m under is the pressure I’ve put on myself.” —Mark Messier
- “True friends are like diamonds, precious and rare. False friends are like leaves, found everywhere.” —proverb
- “A true friend advises justly, assists readily, adventures boldly, takes all patiently, defends courageously and continues to be a friend unchangeably.” —William Penn
- “Anybody can sympathize with the sufferings of a friend but it requires a very fine nature; it requires, in fact, that nature of a true individualist with a friend’s success.” —Oscar Wilde
- “I can trust my friends. These people force me to examine, encourage me to grow.” —Cher
Peer pressure and harmful friendships are often big factors in someone’s decision to stay in school or drop out. For more information on resisting peer pressure and choosing the right friends, check out So You’re Thinking of Dropping Out of School, which will soon have a companion volume entitled “So You’re Thinking of Staying in School,” a valuable handbook for how to communicate effectively, build healthier, closer relationships, become a better listener and manage negative emotions. Dropping Out book one gives you the reasons why you should stay in school; book two gives you all the tools you need to follow through and get your diploma.
