We meet a plethora of people throughout our lives. There are those we admire. There are those who are in need of our guidance. There are those who have unfortunately been broken, over and over again. Those we are jealous of; those we love; those we seek validation from, and the list can continue. However, while different people serve different purposes and play different roles in our lives, those who are the most influential in our lives are the ones who inspire us because those we surround ourselves with are who we become. People can inspire us to do a variety of things, and, thus, inspiration can pertain to any aspect of our life.

I recently have become very close to a friend I met a week before my sophomore year of college commenced. She exudes genuine love. She inspires me to love more because of the way she loves so hard and so deeply. She invests her time into me and all of her friends in a way that inspires me to invest time into her and into my other friends. She accepts her faults and leads others into loving their own. She is the one who will be your shoulder to cry on. She finds the positive in every moment, whether it be spontaneous or planned because these moments define us.

These moments are our lives and we need to love them. Though there is pain and suffering, she finds a way to learn from those situations, and they lead her to appreciate the times of joy and pleasure and inspire me to do the same. Ultimately, she reminds me to love.

I have become close to someone I met in the beginning of my college career. He exudes true confidence. He sets his goals high and never settles for less. He always expects more from himself and is never satisfied with the minimum. He is steadfast in the knowledge and reality that he can and will be successful. He inspires me to gain more knowledge and to never stop seeking to learn more about anything. He teaches me to value and appreciate my education. He inspires me to work my hardest because life is worth it. He inspires me to set my goals higher and flourish academically in order to find what I am passionate about. Ultimately, he reminds me to be dedicated.

I met this particular person only several weeks ago and immediately skipped the acquaintance phase to someone I truly enjoy spending time with. He exudes courage. He realizes that life doesn’t always have to be serious and that lightheartedness is a gift. Spontaneity runs through his blood and the thrill of doing something new never fades for him. His enthusiasm for life has become inspired me to discover the laughter in life. He finds adventures everywhere he goes and doesn’t let fear control him. He seeks challenges academically and inspires me to find what challenges me because he knows it is what makes us grow as people. He inspires me to find my own adventures and my own hidden treasure chests. Ultimately, he reminds me to be adventurous.

While these are only three of the many important people in my life, each one of them inspires me to strive to improve very different, yet important, aspects in my life. Find those people who inspire you to do something positive whether it be to seek adventure, find your passion, or to simply love people and life. Life will be so much more fulfilling.