By Maura Sheedy – 12th Grade, Oakland Catholic High School

“I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not for that handful of friends who have given me a heart full of joy. Let’s face it, friends make life a lot more fun”  –Charles R. Swindoll

One of the most important things I have ever made in my life are the relationships I have made.  Friends, family, mentors, and others we interact with can influence our own lives dramatically and for that reason I love meeting new people and making new friends.  Do you ever think about how different your life would be if you had not met a certain person? I know personally that without my friends, I may have been totally different and would have lacked many of the main attributes that I feel define me.  Many of my hobbies and interests started because my friends took part in or liked those things and I then picked up from them.  I began playing lacrosse my freshman year of high school, having never played before, because a few of my friends were on the team.  I tried it and loved it!  I still play three years later.  Many of the friends that I have made also encourage me to be a better person, both academically and morally.  A lot of my friends are so intellectually gifted that their knowledge amazes and teaches me each day. I am lucky to have soaked up a bit of their erudition and have used their ideas to stem my own.  Their attitudes inspire me to work harder every day and I do not think I would have worked this hard during high school without their influence.  I also look at my friends and am in awe of how giving they are.  Some of my friends give up a lot of their time to help others whether volunteering or living their lives out in this way.  Because of them, I have done my own volunteer work and have attended a mission trip in New York.  They have made me become a better person.  Even those that I have met at Pittsburgh Youth Media inspire me to express myself through writing.  Without them, I do not think writing would be so important to me today.  As a seventeen year old, I still have a lot of life left to live.  I intend to continue to make many friends and cannot wait to see how their influence affects me.

 Maura Sheedy is a senior at Oakland Catholic High School who lives in Thornburg.  She previously has been a part of Young Writers Institute.  She considers random things she has seen on the Internet to be her muse for her writing. She enjoys lacrosse, cheer, dance, and blogging.