I have a friend who is currently in the midst of making a big decision about whether or not to go to Graduate school. She is 23 years old and has never been faced with such a monumental choice. One part of her is very excited and wants to see what she can do with it, the other part is deathly afraid of failure. Both views are valid and it is important to acknowledge both of them. The irony about the situation though is that it seems like her decision to go to grad school is based off of other people’s opinions of what she should do. Like I say, she is 23 and now that I’m 30 I know how incredibly young that is. There are going to be bigger choices in her life, even in the next few years, that will be more monumental. It will be important for her to learn now how to make a decision that will benefit her later rather than please those pushing for her to make a choice that may not satisfy her. She is smart and I know she can make a great choice, but she has to first be with the one person who can help her make the right choice: herself. 

Any choice anyone makes that is so life altering should never be influenced by others. It is a good chance to see who truly respects you because when you make a choice, there will be those who support you and those who won’t. Those who do you can probably file under “friends” and those who don’t you can file under… “enemies”? Probably not enemies, but definitely not someone you would want to associate with on a regular basis. There are enough negative things in life. Why surround yourself with negative people? It isn’t worth it.