Influences are all around us. Every person we interact with; friends, relatives, teachers, all affect the way we think.

It is important to realize that you do not function independent from our society, no matter how cool you think are. It is impossible to make decisions or choices without the influences that surround you.

I am not trying to challenge free will. It is easier to assume that we exert some power over our lives, rather than our lives being decided by our genetic tendencies and past actions of others. Still, we cannot ignore that we get most of our decision-making information from other minds. The question really is: Are we being directed by these people or are we using the knowledge they give us to form our own opinion?

I think the solution is to surround yourself with people you trust to make you a better person and a better decision-maker. This is not to say you should only hang out with people you feel are smarter than you. After all, that would leave nobody for me to hang out with —- but the key is variety.

Anyone can spot people on campus that you know are being led like a dog on a leash to decide what clothes to wear, what music to listen to and even how to act. Then there are those people who purposely go against the current fashion, listen to some awful Gothic music and behave like everyone is inferior to them.

Neither fully maximizes their ability to decide for themselves and they don’t offer themselves any variety of people to exchange ideas and thoughts with.

When I was younger, I used to be a flag-waving Republican. I would argue for hours with my parents about issues I knew little about. It should be noted that both of my parents lean slightly to the left on the political spectrum.

Then I met a good friend who offered hours of argument and irrefutable evidence that sparked my interest. I also have several good friends on the other side of the argument. That situation helped foster an excellent setting for debate.

Of course, there were people in our circle who hated these discussions —- that had its benefits, too.

Every once in a while they would join in and we would have a fresh voice with fresh ideas and hopefully, they got something out of it as well.

There are influences we experience everyday that might not be as beneficial, such as television.

First off, I want to admit that I am a recovering TV addict. I was raised on TV as many of you readers mere and have tried to kick the habit several times.