Right This Way Please. . .

Getting people around you to do certain things can become an easy task depending on which way you choose to approach the certain situation. Getting the group of friends your hanging around with to conform to a certain genre of music, fashion and language comes fairly easy as well. Often the group of friends all enjoy the same things, interests and activities. High school is where your main group of friends is formed, and we only hope they stick with us throughout college. When our friends leave for college and they in turn adapt to their new lifestyle, interests often change.

During high school my group of friends was solid and jam packed with different personalities. It quickly came to an end and we all aspired to head in different directions. We all promised to stay in touch but with busy schedules its become difficult to maintain the relationship. For those of us who stayed, maintaining the relationship was key in order to survive boredom. The summer after high school came and went and most of us decided what was around the corner.

The group dissolved and it was only a few of us that were still close to each other. I began full time school and work. Most followed and enrolled in school and found jobs. We all were living it up. We were going to do exactly what we had planned, to attend school, make some cash and eventually prepare to move elsewhere.

This was all going to plan when one of our friends just stood out, and seemed to be going the wrong way. He was stubborn and did his own thing. He didn't have a job, and his parents really didn't say much about it. Jerry didn't apply for school because he said, "he could not afford it." I assured him that neither could I, but no matter what I was not backing down. His main interest was art. Jerry was incredibly talented, and there was not a person who knew him, that didn't know that. For some reason though he believed that success was going to come to him. We would have deep, hour long conversations about our futures, and the past but more importantly the present. As soon as I would begin to make comments as to when he was going to look for a job, immediate frustration was obvious. I even offered my time to help him apply for school. His other friends made comments which only made things worse. Jerry's brothers tried to encourage him, along with his parents. there was only so much time I could spend on Jerry, talking about his own life.

Our lives belong to us. We can do whatever we choose to do with our lives. I cant believe I was watching my friend sleep away his days. Although Jerry didn't care about himself, there was no way I was going to do the same. I began to stop talking. it was time for my actions to speak much louder.

When we would hang out he would ask how things were going. I could do nothing but tell the truth and I expressed how great they were. Because I was working so much, I was able to start saving up for an apartment. We talked about the places I had been looking at and he couldn't believe that I was going to be able to afford such a nice place. I made it clear, that if you work hard, you really do get to play hard. We talked about school and my grades and the overall experience. Everything was going according to plan and I was loving live and its crazy experiences. When it was enough about me and on to him, the mood quickly changed. We both knew what he was up to and there was not much to say. He did show me some new pieces he had been working on and of course I was impressed. I did have to ask him, "What good is your art, if the only eyes that experience them, are your own?" He pondered the question, I am sure of it. I just needed him to feel selfish for a moment. I needed to help him understand that the world is in our hands. Jerry just need needed to be shown the price and the end of the hardwork. I really believe he needed to see someone else, who grew up with him, "go first."

There was no way my words were going to physically pick up this man and push him toward his future. The only way I was going to get Jerry to listen was, to just show him what he could obtain. I guess that actions do speak louder than words. My motivation was sparked when I was ten. The life I had, was a life I refused to live for the rest of my life. I was able to change it, and I was going to. I was already set on giving myself everything I wanted and most importantly an education. Jerry didn't have the same issues motivating him, but I knew we both wanted the same thing.

The only way I was going to get this guy to listen was to just do it with my actions. I had to just lead by example. Most often it is the strongest impact. Words go in one ear, and out the other. When I look up to someone, I look up to the things they have done in their life. This process can be much slower but the experience is greater. I rather have my friend watch me and become egger to gain and obtain the things i have, rather than give up on him. Whether I was in the right or wrong for doing it this way didn't matter to me. I just could not let someone fall. If Jerry could learn from me, or it was the tangible he needed than that's the way it is. Allowing a friend to do nothing would have hurt me much more.

FINAL SUMATION:
IF YOU CANT DO IT WITH WORDS, DO IT WITH YOUR ACTIONS.