June 2014: What is your opinion of the idea that the influence of others can have a lasting effect?

In life there is so much that can influence and shape us. When something is done or said towards you, the ideas will continue on and affect the future you and that makes you recall the significant things in life.The future you is based on the past you and how things fall together in life, you mainly have to learn to surround yourself with the good people. Something as small as someone stepping out of their way for you can cause a lasting impact and you hold onto that memory. A lasting impact is like a memory that you hold onto it and it can affect you, it is something that will maintain as time goes on. Having a lasting impact that is never forgotten is shown with Paul and Normans brotherhood in the film The River runs through it, The last Lecture by Randy Pousch who tells a story about his childhood and in my personal life with a friend who had his grandmother pass away.

Some actions are done to support others in a way to help them be happy. In the film, A River Runs Through It, we see that Norman and Paul grow up together and move apart but one thing they are connected through is fly fishing. This is one thing their dad taught them as kids and they grew up masturing it. When they get separated for school and life they eventually come back together and they go out fly fishing, this is a notable moment in the film because we see the fishing bringing their brotherhood back together as if no one ever left. The lasting impact this one activity they had learnt as kids has carried onto their adulthood. It has become something permanent that they both can hold onto and be brought back together by.

Even when someone makes a comment you could still have a lasting impact that u remember. In the Last Lecture, by Randy Pousch, he tells a story about his childhood. He was at a camp and they were watching the first man take a step on the moon but it was getting late. They told all the kids to go to bed, this made Randy mad so he argued against it because he wanted to watch the first step on the moon. Sometimes the actions of others aren’t always a happy memory, sometimes you have to remember sometimes that aren’t as pleasant and learn or grow from it. To him this was a significant event that he has remembered due to it affecting him. He sees this as a chance where the camp director gave him an opportunity to learn and grow from something not super big. Randy has been influenced in his present life by this once in a lifetime opportunity to see. He learned and grew around it, becoming who he is today.

When someone steps out of their way to care for you, that will be remembered and help shape you to be a better you in the future. Just recently my best friend, Devon, had something tragic happen; his grandmother passed away. He was absolutely devastated and there truly wasn’t much I could do to help him out. I tried a lot including, meaningful text messages and or phone calls, hanging out, and even talking to his mom. None of this worked until it hit me that I needed to surprise him. So that day I went out and got a nice hoodie, gum, gatorade, comfort food and candy then put it into a box with a handwritten note. I the drove to his house, without him knowing, and left it on his doorstep so he would find it and open it with surprise. It worked he loved it and it took his mind off things and made him smile, which was exactly what he needed. To this day he will mention this, “Remember that time u left that box on my doorstep…”. This shows that my actions towards others can influence those around me. Devon took what my actions were and remembered it and used it for himself to be a better person. He took into account that I can show empathy and consideration though my actions. My actions had a lasting effect that he now tells everyone what I did for him. It doesn’t just affect Devon in this case but it affected me in the sense that he appreciated all I did for him, makes me remember the situation and build a better me off of it.

In the end we all have actions that will affect one another. The positive actions we show are the ones that are most remembered. But action can always influence those around us. Good or bad they change us in a way we like, they make us better people and allow us to grow. We see how lasting memories can impact us as humans and strive for excellence.