Our Influences
It’s normal when you have an older sibling and for your parents to make you “follow their footsteps”. It’s like getting your first phone at the age your brother or sister did, or getting a car and having your own room at the same age. It can get pretty boring at a certain age. You can be different by asking your parents to do a specific thing at a younger and or even older age.
We have different people who inspire us, influence us and sometimes we can let that get the best of us. Sometimes, your friends can influence you to change who you are, like they make you think you can be better, but the thing is, you’re great, just how you are. It’s kind of like a metaphor on taking your own path, you can follow the footsteps of others, but keep in mind, you don’t have to. Your influence to make your own path can be anybody you choose!
Before we start, I am just telling you that all of this is just my opinion...I don't have experience but this is what I think is happening today. Now we got that covered, please enjoy!
Just Be You
The modern society nowadays can be really messed up. There are people in this world that are successful, lazy, homeless, depressed, famous, rich, happy, etc. There are some people that ruin themselves by trying to just to fit in with their surroundings instead of being proud of who they are.
Every second, people make decisions that could either lead to tragedy or for the better. There are people that are famous/rich, but little did people know that they didn't want money or fortune, they just want someone to love. However, there are some people that are the complete opposite, some of them just think money is everything, and would leave everything behind just for fortune.
People need to be whoever they are (not whoever they want to be). 'Be someone like you look up to' is different from 'be like the person you look up to'; that means you can see them as inspiration, not change the way you act, dress, or even the way you feel.
Social Media
Social media is a very big part of the modern society. It's a cool and helpful tool to help us with pretty much almost everything. It helps us plan our clothes, improve our talents/skills, helps us feel happy when we're down, how to fix an object we broke, etc. However, since we are free to post anything on social media sites since no one would know our identity, people have made wrongful uses of it; which could turn into cyber bullying. The internet is a mix of truth and mostly lies. It can ruin someone, it's worse than gossiping since this could involve all the people across the globe. You have the right to post anything you want on social media sites you want, but you also have a responsibility to do so respectfully and that means posting something without being mean to others.
Bullying
Bullying has been around for years and years (even way before we were born). Now, there´s social media accounts that you can use to stay anonymous, and it is easier to bully others. In schools, there are some people that bully others for fun, but there are also some that do it just because they think it’s cool or they need to fit in with others. Bullying is pretty much just expressing all your emotions to embarrass a person. Bullies just get happiness from making someone else suffer.
If you're not aware of this, bullying has killed many people because it causes them too much stress that can lead to depression, which might make them isolated or even commit suicide.
If you are one of those who are getting bullied, I don’t know who you are but I´m here for you so please...please don´t hurt yourself, please live longer. It may look like no one cares for you but there is at least one person that cares for you, I´m one of them. Ignore whatever the bullies say to you or the ones you care for, because you are placed in God´s heart and he loves you just the same way he loves everyone else. You don’t have to change anything, you are perfect the way you are. You are you.
Credits:
Footsteps Photo and Description: Chrisden, Laura, Theodora (Canada)
'Just Be You' Opinion Column: Ansherina (Canada)
'Be Who You Are' Poster: Kaylene, Rebecca (Canada)
Banner: Riley (Canada): created using weavesilk.com
You are You Quotes: Nora and Elianna (USA)