The Value of Bueno Amigos (good friends)

Tonight I played games and hung out with some old friends, as well as some new ones. It's safe to say I have the funniest friends on this side of the Mississippi. We laugh for hours about everything you can imagine. Stupid movies we love, accidental fart noises, auto races (specifically Jr.), memories dating back to elementary school, and so much more. The best part about it though is its all good, clean fun. In today's world there's so much vulgarity and subject matter that's really not appropriate. With my group of friends none of that has ever been an issue. That's the topic of this post: surrounding yourself with good people.

I was never a bad kid, but I could have had my chances. We will fast forward to 7th grade real quick. I was a dashing young student eager to start my next educational journey as an 8th grader at Pine View Middle School when tragedy struck. The district changed the boundaries and I was going to be attending Dixie instead. I had plenty of friends going to both schools so it’s not like I was singled out. Little did I know that change may have been the factor that changed my life forever.

8th grade was better than anticipated. I made a lot of new friends but most importantly became better friends with kids in my own neighborhood who before were just acquaintances. I stayed friends with a lot of my PV friends but there was something about my new close group of friends. With them I never felt any pressure and never felt out of place. They were all good examples to me and I started to realize what the difference was. They had all grown up in the church and there was something about how they carried themselves that stood out above everyone else.

9th grade rolled around and I signed up for seminary (ironically cause I heard you could ditch and you didn't get restitution) I actually switched out since I wasn't LDS but my schedule was all out of wack and for whatever reason signed up again and actually went to class. (Because what would a 9th grader even do when they ditch? ) It turned out I had a few close friends in the class and they made seminary great. I was clueless and they explained things to me and made me feel right at home. To speed up the story I started taking the missionary discussions at my friend’s house because his dad was the bishop of my ward. I was a confused 14 year old boy, hardly understood half of what I was being taught, and the elders asked me if I wanted to be baptized. I went home and thought about it, and even reluctantly talked to my mom about it. Her response changed everything. Worried she may be against it she told me whatever I chose to do she would support me, and that cleared up a lot of my hesitation.

 I still didn't know the first thing about the gospel, but I saw how my friends lived their lives and I knew something about the church was right, so I went ahead and got baptized December 6, 2003. That was nearly 8 years ago now and I look back to see how my life had changed. A few of my close friends at PV ended up going down the wrong path, getting involved in drugs and alcohol and other behaviors that aren't acceptable. (But to be fair a lot of my PV friends were great kids similar to my Dixie ones). But my close friends at Dixie never once put me in a situation where any of my morals or values had to be tested. Still to this day I have never been offered drugs or alcohol, and when I look at the world we live in I am so grateful I never had to worry about that!

I attribute that to the friends I have. So many college kids spend their nights partying, smoking weed, playing some beer pong or what have you. But those people don't know the value of good friends. The kind of friends that hold to their morals and set an example for you to strive for. It’s kind of like the saying "Friends don't let friends drink and drive. But real friends don't let friends drink at all." There is never any question of judgment when I am with them.

To sum it up, I have real friends. They continuously change my life for the better. Even if it means we spend our days talking about NASCAR in redneck accents, I wouldn't trade them for the world.