Making friends and keeping true to yourself...

During your collegiate career at Auburn you will make many acquaintances. I say "acquaintances" because most of these encounters will be brief and although you make use the term "friend" it is loosely implied.

As you grow older you will grow out of people...kind of like you grew out of clothes when you were a kid. There is nothing wrong with this and it is to be expected. Not everyone is going to be your "bff." Growing up (and out of things) is as natural as breathing. It is what enables us to move throughout lives in varying stages of success.

Your opinions on things will changes and things you once felt were important may become less so and things you never thought you would consider important will become "issues" to you.

One thing that college will teach you is to question yourself, your values and what you stand for. If you have a solid foundation in these things you most likely will not be shaken. It is easy to fall into the "in" crowd and discard what you were taught growing up, but that doesn't make you popular, that makes you like everyone else.

A person who knows who they are stands out. A person who doesn't know who they are and follows the crowd blends in and is just another face in a crowd. Which will you be?

Opinions are not always popular. I found in my collegiate career often mine were not, but they won me the respect of several of my peers and a few of my professors. Your opinion does not always need to be shared. Remember to think before you speak and always treat others as you would like to be treated, especially in debates about politics and religion.

Not everyone thinks and feels the same way that you do, but that doesn't mean that you can't be friends. In fact, two of my best friends have completely opposing political views. What makes our friendship work is the mutual respect we have for one another's opinion.

You can still have a good political discussion without taking cheap shots at one another or taking things personally. In fact, as you grow through adulthood you will find your relationships in the workplace and social settings more successful if you learn to do so.

Another important aspect of being able to keep the respect of those around you in times of debate is to be knowledgeable about the topic you are discussing. If you aren't knowledgeable, don't say anything. "Well my mom/dad said..." is not a legitimate or verifiable source of information, although I'm sure she is a great lady.

Find out for yourself. Question everyone. Don't take a professors/colleague/classmates opinion for face value. There are always many parts of a story. If you do this, you will that there are many sources for good information that will make you more educated and knowledgeable on just about any topic that you find important.

This post wound up being way more than I intended, but I hope maybe someone will read it and that it will help them over the coming years to make friends and influence people. War Eagle!