My Life Teacher Whether - Free Essay Example

My Life Teacher Whether it’s a person, song, book or whatever it might be everyone has some kind of influence in their lives. An influence can drive someone to better themselves, or maybe send them in the wrong direction. They really determine the way people turn out. Just like anyone else, I have had many influences in my life, some good, some bad, and they all cross my mind when I have to make a big decision. Over all the ones that do come across my mind my mom impacts my decision the most. Parents can be the most important, and are normally the most important and effective influence in children growing up. My mom definitely had that effective on me in a good way. She is the first to come to my mind when I’m trying to figure out the right thing to do. But like I said, I have many other influences, and they also affect my decisions. My friends are a big part in my life and I think because I’m around them most, they are the second biggest influence to me. I fe el that friends, in most people’s lives are a huge influence because of the amount of time spent with them and the pressure that is put on by them. Without my friends I would be completely different than I am now. Friends have impacted me since I was just a kid, like influencing the kind of toys I would play with, the cartoons I would watch and basically everything I thought was â€Å"cool†. Growing up my friends got me into the music I listen to and the sports I play. In 7th grade they all got me to join ski-club with them at our school and got me into snowboarding. They had all been doing it for about a year but I never really got into it until ski-club. I ended up really liking it and have been doing it ever since, so I’m grateful for my friends encouraging me to get into it. Friends obviously aren’t always the best influence, especially in a teenager’s life. You see it all the time how friends pressure friends to do stupid things. Me and my group in middle school and high school weren’t exactly the staff’s favorite students. We weren’t all that bad; I guess we just always felt the need to entertain ourselves in some unusual ways. For example, tackling the huge Christmas tree our school set up every year or bringing our skateboards to school and skating around the halls jumping down the stairs until we were caught and someone would take them away. I did a lot of stupid things in school, and a lot of those ideas if not all of them were influenced by my friends. But I’ve never really been in a serious amount of trouble, so I don’t regret any of it. It just made for some good stories and funny memories. I would probably be a â€Å"momma’s boy† if it wasn’t for my dad. He definitely toughened me up in every aspect of my life and taught me a lot that I am grateful for. When I was younger my dad inspired me to start playing baseball and football and was a great at home coach. He helped me get a good jump start, and I think is a big reason I excelled in the sports I played. Even with skateboarding and snowboarding, which he knew nothing about, he would try to help me with it as much as he could. He pushed me to keep working at my goal until I achieved it. Every car I have had would have probably blown up on me within the first month if it wasn’t for him. It always amazed me how much he knew about cars, I would stand there with a confused look on my face whenever he would try to explain something about my car to me. Luckily, I have picked up at least a few things along the way and can keep my car running. The thing I appreciate the most about my dad is how accepting he is. Whatever it I want in life he doesn’t criticize me for it. He just encourages me to do whatever it is I feel I need to do. He gives great advice and has toughened me up mentally, teaching me not to let others bring me down and to go after what I want. In m y life so far there have been many people that have helped make me into the person I am today. They all influence the way I think and act, but the person who has made the biggest and most positive impact is my mom. My mom is 45 years old, was raised in Cuyahoga Falls, is the best cook I have ever come across, and loves taking care of her family. She has shown me, along with my two older brothers and younger sister, important virtues to help us succeed through life. Growing up my mom wasn’t really as strict as the other parents, and obviously me and my siblings enjoyed that, but we didn’t take advantage of it. She was lenient with us, but if we screwed up we would lose that trust and be put on a shorter leash until we could gain it back. I think it worked out because she gave us a good example to go by, that example being herself. She is a very polite person and treats her friends and family with love and respect. She always told me that If I wanted something I ha d to go after it and put everything I had into it. She taught me how to stick with things and get things done. I hated school for the most part, but I knew I needed to get through it to accomplish my goals and my mom helped me through that. She always has time for me if I need help with school, girls, or any advice I need I know I can go to her. If she ever saw that maybe I was going to give up on something she would help me push through. A couple of years ago my mom did something huge for me and helped me get back into my faith. We started going back to church together and since then I think we have both been happier people. My religion is a big influence in my life and I’m just really thankful that my mom did that for me. She has influenced my life greatly on the way I act and think things through. I still go to her for advice a lot and go back and think of the things she has taught me and it always help me make the right decision in the end. I am really grateful to have her in my life, she has taught me so much and I know she’s not done teaching me. She has helped me become the person I am today and I would be a lot less driven without her.