10 Influences

I'm supposed to figure out 10 people who have influenced me in my life somehow. I would like to think I could come up with 10 people, but I can't. I do believe that everyone you ever come in contact with has influenced you in some way. Most people in your life are just people you have little contact with and are insignificant after a certain point. There are other people who you consider friends or they were at one point and for some reason you aren't friends anymore. You realize you are different and have nothing in common. Then of course you have a permanent group of people, your family, who you had no choice in getting to know. Some people push us to be the people we are today others show us exactly who we don't want to be. You can thanks both sides equally. There have been many people in my life that I realized were only meant to be in my life for a short amount of time, but had an impact on my life in some capacity and so no matter whether the person was good or bad, I thank you. I thank you for being in my life to show me who I am and make me a better person.

As I've said, I can't think of 10 specific people who have influenced me, but I have thought of 5.

1. Rebecca Tabat. I figured she deserved the top spot. She is my cousin who was taken from this world way to early. At age 19, she succumbed to cancer. But even after death she continues to change the world. She started a fund called Cure With Hope and it's been doing very well. She was such a positive girl through all of the treatments and severe pain. She never blamed anyone for her disease. I believe she had the biggest influence on me in recent years. I was not always the most positive person and I lived too much in the past, focusing on mistakes or regrets. I realized I wasn't living. I saw my cousin have her life robbed by a horrible disease, yet she took it so lightly and she was generally always happy. I took that attitude and ran with it. I can say because of her I have changed my view and outlook on life. I live for the here and now. I don't look back. I am enjoying each and everyday. I only get this one life and I want to enjoy it while I'm here, because none of us will make it out alive.

2. Todd Russ. He was my teacher and principal for many years while I was in grade school. He was the one that pushed me to try MLC and he was the biggest reason why I never wanted to leave. I thought if I left I would be letting him down and would disappoint him. It took me a long time to realize that it should never have been about him. It was my decision to leave, not his. No matter how much I know he was excited for me to be there. I do know that he would have been happy with any decision I made. He prepped me for life and taught me a lot and could never thank him enough for ultimately making me realize where I needed to be.

3. Rachelle Berry. Yes, it's rather sad I have to choose my sister as an influence in my life, considering in our early years, she didn't have much of an influence over me, other than that I wanted to be just like her. But seriously, I pick her as an influence for her more recent achievements and those are her marathons and triatholons. It takes an unbelievable amount of stamina and energy and strength to do those. I give props to anyone who does them you all honestly have a gift. I have finally wanted to start pushing my body the way she pushes hers. She has influenced me to take better care of my body and workout more. I am looking forward to start training for my first 1/2 marathon all thanks to her.

4. My parents. Again, it's probably cheating to have my parents listed as an influence, but I don't care what you think. It took me until college to realize how much my parents had to sacrifice for me and my siblings to have a good life. I realize how hard it is to be an independent, responsible adult. I give them all the credit in the world for where I'm at. If they wouldn't have pushed me in sports or in school, I may not be where I am today. On the other hand, there were things my parents did that I would never do, or do things differently than they did.

5. A friend from grade school who shall not be named who influenced me to not be like her. For the longest time I thought we'd be friends forever, but as I got older, I realized how two-faced she was. She always put on one persona for the world to see, but then behind closed doors with our small group of friends she acted completely different. People rarely saw that side of her, they saw the good Christian girl. After I was not invited to her wedding last year, I finally came to the conclusion we are no longer friends. I had known her since kindergarten but apparently that didn't matter. I realized everything we ever had was just a show or fake. She never really cared for me. It was more of an obligation, like she had to be my friend. But I look at her now and wish her nothing but the best for her life, because I'm much better off without her. My life is much happier than dealing with her drama. So I thank you for showing me how not to be a friend and how to be a real person.


Peace&Love
~L