I read this interesting article the other day and it stated that the people you spent your time with in your 20’s will define who you are going to become. Here’s a quote from it;
“The time you spend in your 20s is arguably the most influential in regards to your future self. Who you spend time with and what you spend time doing plays a massive role in you reaching your full potential.”
Do I believe this? Yes, in some ways, but there is always time to change the life you’re living. What I do know though is that time is precious. It’s valuable. And it’s yours to decide to divide up in whatever way you see fit. There’s so much I still want to do in life and sometimes I feel like there isn’t enough time to do it all. This isn’t true though. We have all the time we need, sometimes we just don’t know how best to allocate it.
This doesn’t just apply for how we spend our time but also who we chose to spend it with. There will always be times when we have to spend time with people we don’t necessarily chose like work and collective hobbies but even in these circumstances you have choice. The choice to refuse to accept who they want you to be or who they already think you are. The choice to stand strong in your own character, your own beliefs, your own agenda and to realise that if you have to change who you are to gain their acceptance or approval, then it isn’t somewhere you need to be or something you want to be apart of.
Sometimes though it’s not easy to see when a relationship or friendship has run its course. In times like that I simplify it to one simple question
Does this person make me feel like a bigger version of myself or a smaller one? 
Friends and good relationships are ones in which you see yourself through their eyes as a bigger, braver stronger version of yourself. More funny, more intelligent. Friends build you up, make you feel invincible and worthy. They make you feel big. They help you grow. They support you. They change and you change but somehow you adapt to get those two pieces to still fit together. 
They put the hard work in and when something isn’t working they put it in again and again and again. They try something new. They value you and they tell you that they do. And they show you that they do. Their the people on the side lines rooting for you even when you stumble, even when you come last. They love you even when you can’t love yourself. They feel your pain. They feel your doubts, your insecurities. And when you’re sure you can’t go on, when you’re absolutely sure you can’t take a single step more, when you have nothing left to give, they show you how to give a little more. The take the step with you, sometimes they take it for you.
The hardest part is acknowledging when is the right time to hold on and when is the right time to let go. Again I ask myself one simple question;
Have they given up on me?
If the answer to that question is yes then you already have the answer to yours.
Life is too short to spend with people who don’t appreciate you. Change is necessary. And that choice you make between holding on and letting go, between giving everything and giving up becomes the story of your life. Write it carefully.
This is breathing 