Many of us wonder why we are the way we are. In the end, we can be who ever we wish to be, but a huge part of oneself is the people whom we surround ourselves with. Our parents influence us, our grandparents influence us, our teachers influence us, but most of all our peers influence us.

It can be hard to process at a young age, but as we grow older it becomes more apparent to most of us that we are who we are because of who we surround ourselves with. Well, that was a mouthful, but try and really think about it. I would say this is mostly true during the teenage years.

For example, if our close friends start smoking pot and drinking, most of us feel the need to join in since our friends are doing so. We think to ourselves, it must be cool right? This is just part of life, though. It can be a hard concept to grasp, but as I've been growing older I am seeing myself becoming more like the people I am constantly around.

The best advice I can give to the next generation of teenagers is to stay true to yourself. Although that sounds super cheesy, it has to be true. Surround yourself with the best people possible so nobody can drag you down. It's difficult to understand at a young age, but your future self will want to know this.

I remember the good old days as a young teenager when I would tell myself I was doing things because I wanted to, but really I just did things because my friends wanted me to.

Obviously, everyone makes mistakes and some people will fall into the wrong crowd and let negative influences into their lives, but avoiding it as much as possible can only help. It all comes back to listening to yourself and staying true what you know is right and wrong. People will pressure you into doing things you don't want to do, but you always have the power to say no. Those who don't accept you were never really good friends from the start.

Our parents may teach us one thing, but our friends may encourage us to do another thing. I figured that the peer pressuring would stop by the mid-teens, but unfortunately it has not. I still have people who I thought were my good friends encouraging me to do stupid things that they know I don't agree with.

At the end of the day, this all is part of growing up. We make mistakes, we surround ourselves with people who aren't positive influences, but we learn from the past and move on. As long as we stay true to ourselves, every little thing will be just fine.