Throughout life you meet people that make a significant impact on your life for better or for worse. If you are lucky enough, you will find people that will make you a better person and when you do find them, try hard to hold on to them because they are very hard to come by.

I have been blessed to have a great support system in my group of friends. I have childhood friends that are practically like family to me. I like to keep my circle small, but it wasn’t always like that.

I came from a private middle school so all my friends were all going to a private high school as well. I wasn’t, however. My parents told me I was going to a public high school and when I heard the news I started to freak out, worrying that I wouldn’t know anyone at the new school.

In high school I was a very sociable guy and to this day I still am. I’m very easy to talk to, I get along very well with a lot of people and I thought I had a lot of friends in high school. I also played sports, so that’s where I made my first friends in high school.

I was a young, naive kid who thought all these people I met would have my back no matter what. I was wrong.

My junior year of high school I had a freak accident that hurt my neck and I was hospitalized for about four months. I couldn’t walk and was left with no feeling in my lower extremities.

During my time in the hospital only a handful people checked up on me, whether it was through a phone call, text or Facebook message. I even had less people come visit me in the hospital.

I knew then and there that the people who claimed to be my “friends,” weren’t actually my friends but just acquaintances. It was a wakeup call to me. I realized that you need to know the people that truly care about you. When you do, life will get better. Because let’s face it, life is tough.

Throughout life I learned you will encounter a handful of individuals that will change your perspective on life. My best friend Will, I’ve known since we were in diapers, was there almost everyday when I was in the hospital. He has truly been a blessing in my life.

I only have a handful of friends that I am still close to from high school, even though some of them now live out of state we try hard to stay in contact through group chats.

Right now in my life, I have put in three semesters at The Union. This is my final semester here. I have made a few friendships here that I know will last a lifetime. They have also have been there to support me through good and bad.

Real friends are hard to come by. I don’t even consider these people friends but rather, they’re my family. No matter what happened in past I still am thankful for every person I have encountered in my life. They have helped me grow into the person I am today.