Giavanna Pitts

11/1/2019

Lifelong Learner Essay

Throughout high school, I was that one friend that always gave to her peers. At any

opportunity, I would share my snacks, my pencils, my gum, anything. But then there comes a

time when you do that so much, that that’s all people expect of you. They expect you to give to

them, to share with them, to do things that overall benefit them. To handle this situation, you

have to love yourself enough to be able to cut them off. I’d have to say that this is the most

difficult thing I’ve dealt with during my high school career and I have a few tips for people going

through the same thing.

The first one would be: To not beg people to be in your life, if someone wants to be there

they will make an effort to. This is important because friendship goes two ways. You can’t

always be the friend to reach out to them, it must be reciprocated. This is a lesson I learned

throughout my junior year. If someone truly cares and wants to be apart of your life, they will

make the effort, I promise. Don’t go out of your way for someone who won’t do the same for

you.

The next one would be to spend time with yourself. Don’t confuse spending time with

yourself with being lonely. Experts say that spending time with yourself can improve your

relationships, improve your confidence, and help regulate your emotions. When it comes to your

confidence, solitude can help you feel more confident in your own skin. Being by yourself can

help you make choices without thinking of outside influences. This feeling is also a problem in

society today, especially as teenagers, we care about everyone’s opinions. Sitting alone
 In conclusion, knowing what I know now has affected my life and will affect my future

choices because it taught me the true meaning of friendship and what real friendships should

look like. With these in mind, I will navigate through friendships more smartly and I hope my

advice will help you do the same.