A future high school valedictorian is sitting alone in her room, about to break down over her sophomore AP chemistry homework. That’s when her phone buzzed with a message from her best friend. Yvonne Le figured out the start of an educational habit that would assist her throughout the rest of her life. What about other people? How can peers affect people around them?
The first way the peers around people are influenced positively is academically. In high school, many students partake in sports. That means the team needs people to play their role in the game, but if people aren’t passing all of their classes, they won’t be able to participate in the game. According to Mikaya Crame, a former football and track student at West Ottawa, the bond between his teammates helped him get good grades.
“Being a member of multiple sports teams, you build a bond with the people around you, and because you can only participate with good grades, it gives you a responsibility to not only yourself but the people around you as well,” Crame said. Without the influence of Crame’s teammates and friends, he wouldn’t have been motivated to try as hard in school. Not only can they influence people academically, but they can also influence people in life.
Another way peers around individuals are influenced positively is by inspiring people to progress in life more. That inspiration from your peers can give people a big boost in life. “To this day, the fact that my friends are so successful and are killing it in their careers/lives rubs off on me and increases my ambition/motivation. I’d imagine if my closest friends were still my high school friends now, I wouldn’t feel that compelled to keep pursuing new things in my career and would feel more content being more stagnant but comfortable. Also, I feel like among my friend group we are always learning from each other,” said Becky Quach. Quach says that with her peers around her, helped her progress more in her career, which is giving her a better life for the future. Quach claims without her friends she wouldn’t push herself meaning she would be missing out on new opportunities for her career. The inspiration to live a better life is great, but it can also influence people for the future.
The last way the surrounding peers are affecting people positively is by making people better prepared for the future.“Socially, I would say friend groups in high school impact how your personality and characteristics develop (work ethic, morals, humor). College social groups are driven by a desire to be surrounded by more like-minded individuals who drive you to your goals and support your passions. Although on both ends it’s easy to fall into the wrong crowd and not reach your full potential academically and socially/culturally,” Vincent Le said. Le learned from his high school experience, making sure that he surrounds himself with people who push each other to reach their full potential. Le says that the friends and peers around you shape you into what you are in the future. Le was affected by pursuing an alternate path in college from his family.
The peers around individuals influence people in many ways individuals don’t realize. These high school graduates noticed that their surrounding peers can influence people academically by having individuals play their role in sports, and in order to play the sports, players need to get good grades. They can also inspire people in life by causing individuals to do more in their careers. The last reason is that they noticed that they can shape people’s future for the better or worse with their morals, work ethic, and humor. After Le’s friend broke down the AP chemistry homework section by section, Le figured out how to do the assignment with ease.
