I'm sure we can all recall that scene from "Mean Girls" where Mrs. Whats-her-face (Tina Fey) tells Cady, "I'm a pusher. I push people." Recently, my sorority did an activity where we wrote compliments to each other, and one of my sisters wrote to me, "I love how you always push people!"

Was that a compliment? Am I a 'pusher?'

In the "Mean Girls" movie, Tina Fey's character is the math teacher who pushes Cady into doing the Mathletes, pushed her husband into law school (who is now divorcing her) and pushed herself into working three jobs. I've always been a 'pusher' for myself—I actually do work three jobs right now, on top of being a student athlete, an honors student and chair of standards for my sorority. But am I a pusher for other people? And is that even a good thing?

I do want my friends to do their best—whether that's school, or financial obligations, or friendships. I'll probably never be the person to unironically say "f*** it!" I'll never feel comfortable going shopping with a sorority sister if I know she hasn't paid her dues this week—I'll never feel good about my friends going out the night before a big midterm exam—I'll never feel like any of that is what I should be supporting for my friends' lives.

I have to question what my role is, though. I'm not a parent or a professor or a Dean of the college, I'm not really in any position to be judging what other people do or trying to change their behavior, am I?

But. But here's the thing. Here we are, 19 and 20 and 21 year-olds, all trying to get through life the best we can. Our friends are our support system, our escape, the people who have our backs. And shouldn't that include caring about each other's decisions? I've had friends talk me into doing some really dumb things throughout my life.. but I've also had friends that talked me out of some bad decisions, and those are the people I trust to ask for an opinion when I need one. So maybe we should let our friends push us a little bit. Maybe, they're our family now, and we need to take care of each other.