Life's Garden - Bad Apple

Choose Your Friends Wisely

You may have everything going just right in your life and could well be paving your way on the road to success. However, if you get mixed up with the wrong people,

you may find yourself taking an uncomfortable detour or even a dead end.

Your friends have more of an influence on you than you may realize.

People that hang together end up with the same habits, interests, and even ambitions.

In other words, you may end up much like your friends.

A person that drains your spirit, or persuades you to do things that you’d rather not do,

may not be someone you should spend your time with.

One bad apple may not spoil the whole bunch, but it can ruin the look of a branch or even a tree.

Gravitate toward people that have the qualities you like and admire.

This will eventually lead you to adopt those qualities yourself. Choose wisely your friends! (S. Finelli)

Activity

READ & REFECT

Read through the Good Character.com website information on friendship. Then, independently or with a partner, sort the character traits on what it means to be a good or bad friend.

GOOD FRIENDS VS BAD FRIENDS

WRITING ASSIGNMENTS Source: Good Character.com

Choose one or more of the following prompts to write about and discuss with your peers.

1. Write about the best friendship you’ve ever had. What made (or makes) it so special? Describe your friend. What are the qualities that you appreciate most about this person?

2. Imagine that some day you will have a child. Write a letter for that child to read when he or she reaches the age you are right now. Tell the child about the different kinds of friendships (good and bad) you had at this age, and the important things you’ve learned about friendship. Offer advice on how he/she can have good friendships at this age.

3. Write about a time when you really felt hurt by a friend. What happened? How did you handle it? Did you tell him or her how you felt? What could you have done differently? What have you learned from this experience?

4. Have you ever been jealous of a friend? What happened? How did you handle it? How could you have handled it better? Has a friend of yours ever been jealous of you? What happened? What have you learned from either of these experiences?

5. Have you and a friend ever drifted apart? What happened? How do you feel about it? How do you deal with that loss? Is there anything you could (or should) do to get back together?

6. Write about a time when a friend really helped you with something – really came through for you when you needed him or her. How did that make you feel? Did you tell him/her?

7. Watch a television program and write about one of the characters. Is that person a good friend to any of the other characters? Explain. Would you like to have this character for a friend? Why, or why not?