Have you ever realized how much your friends influence you and your actions?

I know that many of mine have influenced me and what I say on a daily.

I have caught some pretty great catch-phrases (no pun intended) and have started to copy actions.

As many relationships show, people seem to mind meld.

I know I have with my boyfriend. I do his weird dances and say the same weird sh** that he does at random moments. I guess it makes sense because I spend quite a bit of time with him.

He’s not the only person who has affected my brain’s thinking.

In fact, my parents mentioned that I kept saying, “that’s so aggressive,” and I realized it was because I hung out with my friend Emily so much over the summer that I kept saying everything was aggressive.

This next one is a random event that I feel attributes to a change in my daily life. Tux, my dog, encouraged me to start wearing contacts again because he would tinkle every time I looked at him while wearing glasses. I know he isn’t a person, but I really don’t care… I know, that’s aggressive of me.

Since elementary school, my best friend Robyn has been such an influence on me that I don’t actually know who comes up with the good and bad decisions anymore. We are two halves of a whole idiot majority of the time.

Our adventures never get old, and I couldn’t ask for a better partner-in-crime — even the memories that dance a fine line of legal. That being said most of our adventures are sleep deprived trips to Walmart where every little thing is funny. She has been my saving grace and sanity way too many times to count. I legit thank God for her every day.

She even helped me find the best friend group out there. I probably would have lost my head last school year and this summer if it wasn’t for all of those wonderful people. They have become a big part of our adventures, and I am going to always cherish those memories.

Robyn isn’t the only reason I make friends though. I have made so many friends during my time here in college and a couple of my best friends in particular.

Over the summer I got the opportunity to work in an internship with my lovely friend Julia, and it was the epitome of a great experience. I am pretty sure Sarah had a couple moments where she thought, “what have I agreed to?”

It was great being able to learn and grow with Julia as we took on the ropes of doing a weekly newspaper in a different setting than we have been used to.

Though, I didn’t take on any of her mannerisms, well at least not to my knowledge, she did teach me how to be a better person. She helped me learn how to care for people in a different way than I was used to. As I am writing this, I am on the verge of tears because she will be graduating this spring, and I don’t know what I am going to do without seeing her lovely face weekly.

She made the internship more fun than I thought an internship could be. I wish I could have helped her as much as she had helped me.

There is another lady I have to thank for being such an amazing aspect of my life. Shout out to our bada** editor in chief, Libby. She has made quite an impact on my life. She is probably Dunn with my shenanigans at this point. Thank God she keeps me around because she’s helped me with a lot. She has been there for me through my dog getting his angel wings and later the same year, my grandmother. She was there when I had a huge falling out with an old friend I will always cherish the memories of. She has even been there to help add to my memory box with some pretty enjoyable moments.

Libby has helped me be more eco-friendly reducing my carbon footprint. From recycling to changing my shampoo to being the final helpful push to using a Saalt Cup. She is my reminder that I need to take better care of our planet.

Not only has Libby taught me how to be a better Earth friend, but has introduced me to the greatest thing created to help keep people awake. She has gotten me hooked on crack, more commonly known to meer mortals as Diet coke.

Now, let me tell you how she got me hooked. She took a chance and did a little self-indulgence and got Diet Coke instead of regular. I drank it because it was there. Let me tell you, I was wired like a little kid trying Mt. Dew for the first time.

I can’t wait for more fantastic moments with these truly spectacular people. I was more jittery than I had been in a long time.

Thank God she introduced me because it keep we awake on an eight hour car ride after only getting four hours of sleep.

I am so thankful to have these wonderful people in my life, and I can’t wait for more life molding with them.