Throughout life everyone goes through different phases. In all of these different phases we encounter different people, and some of these people end up having a strong impact on our lives. But their impacts don't seem to be significant until we reach the age of understanding the privilege of choosing who you spend your time with (or without).

People (especially in their young age) go through phases in friendship. In preschool, you're friends with whoever has the coolest toys to play with. In elementary school you're friends with whoever is in the same class as you. In middle school you're friends with everyone. But in high school you slowly begin to decide who you want to STAY friends with. People are trying to discover and accept themselves while still being accepted by everyone else around them. But we can't please everyone.

There's a few things that I quickly learned towards the end of my high school career, but struggled to accept.

The people you surround yourself with are the people you will become most like. So, surround yourself with people who reflect the image of the kind of person that you want to be. If you surround yourself with good, wholesome people that fill your heart and mind with joy and positivity then you will soon find yourself full of joy and positivity. Contrary to popular belief, it's okay to not have a massive group of friends that make exciting plans every single night. Being a genuine person is much more important than being a popular person and being a little lonely on the weekend is better than becoming someone you're not proud of being.

It's more important to have a few good friends than it is to have twenty acquaintances. I'm a firm believer that God puts people in our lives for a reason, but also removes people from our lives for a reason. Having a handful of genuine people that surround you and make you want to become a better person will make you much happier than being in a room full of people that you're trying to impress or "fit in" with.

So search for those good, wholesome people that can fill your life with joy and positivity. Forget about what society says about popularity and realize the value of having close friends that you can be yourself around. Get out of the phase of being friends with everyone and get into the phase of finding friendships that you know will last a lifetime. But also remember, at the end of the day, being a genuine person is more important than being a popular person. Having high quality friendships is more important than having a high quantity of friendships, and its okay to "not have friends" because I don't doubt one bit that you're certain to find them.