I have been thinking a lot recently about the power of influence. The followers, the leaders, the non-conformist, we all fall into some sort of category. My wife always points out that I usually do things to be different. She is usually right. Even in trying to be different, I am in some way being influenced by others. I hate trends. I loathe shallowness as a whole. We are a society of "bandwagon jumpers" looking to fit in. You may not realize it, but someone else has influenced everything about us in one way or another. We take fashion cues from other people all the time. If you don't believe me, go back to 2002 and ask yourself why you thought it was cool to only tuck the front of your shirt in. It isn't just fashion though, it controls every aspect of our lives. Take music for instance; if I tell you Jeff Buckley’s live performance of the song “Halleluiah” is the best version ever recorded you are going to get on youtube and listen. You are going to base your opinion on the song off of my bias towards Buckley’s rendition. We have a strong desire to fit, to connect with other people. We all say that we try to be ourselves, and that is true, but don’t forget the influence others have on what makes us “us”. We have influence over those around us, even if we do not realize it. We are either going to influence people in a positive way or in a negative way. Lets step back and examine effects our actions have on other people. Lets spread love.
The playlist this was written to consisted of "I don't feel it anymore", "passion play" and "After all" by William Fitzsimmons, and "Latter days" by Over The Rhine
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