Livewire Vol. 12 Issue 3 May 2021

Staff Editorial “You are who your friends are.”

Influence is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as the power or capacity of causing an effect in indirect or intangible ways. It is impossible to escape. As human beings, we get our influence from everything that surrounds us. It’s the people we follow on Instagram, the videos that we click through, the television shows we watch and the people’s opinions that we listen to. Whether that be people, culture, work or school, the influence of our day to day changes the way we think and act whether we would like it to or not. It is this concept that we hope you picked up on from our cover and the theme you will see throughout this magazine.

The influence of the world in itself can be both positive and negative. Some things such as motivational speakers, good music, the environment that surrounds you can all influence the person you are and the way you think. Both types of influences can help us grow into the people we are today and even have a path for our future. The people we surround ourselves with, the music we listen to, the people we follow on social media are all influences in our life that can help us grow by either pushing us forward or sometimes making us take a step backwards.

As humans we all want to be in the know. This pushes us to do things like constantly check social media, listen to gossip, and watch the news. It’s an everyday thing for most people to try to be informed and want to figure out information about what’s going on in the world. We want to know what people are wearing, who they’re with, what’s happening with the latest politics, and even just what the latest fashion trend is. As humans we like to connect with each other and the world around us.

Different factors that go into mental health come from the information we take in around us. With different types of influences like social media gaining popularity more and more people are being diagnosed with more mental health issues because of the negative influences in our life. Certain influences are affecting the way we view ourselves and take care of ours because we see the way others look or are living and think we need to change in order to be like them.

There are a lot of things in our lives that we have to choose from when it comes to being influenced, but it is important to take a step back and understand what we let rule the decisions that we make. Ask yourself if you want to be like the things that you consume. Renowned Motivational Speaker, John Rohn states that, “We are the average of the five people that we spend the most time with.” We believe that this applies to the culture that you consume as well.

In an effort to try to promote good change, we encourage you to think about who you want to be and if the things that you consume reflect that. We believe that it is important to be aware of this influence and to choose what you want to be influenced by. If you want to change who you are, it comes down to changing your environment.

Ask yourself, what do you let influence you and how do you influence others?

Sincerely, The Livewire Staff 2