There have been so many different people who have impacted my life over the years. I could write a hundred papers on all the different people who have impacted me and all the different ways they have impacted me, but I chose to tell the story of a trip I went on, and on that trip I met my best friend. My freshman year my school took a mission trip to Guatemala over spring break. As I signed up for the trip, my initial intentions were to go somewhere crazy and be with friends over spring break and I found this as the perfect opportunity. By the end of that trip my heart had been crushed, in a good way, and I realized I came into the trip with awful intentions. On the last day we took a bus the airport and arrived an hour early so I had an hour to kill and I happen to sit next to Joel Wakefield. He was a funny guy and we hit it off immediately. I met my best friend on this trip, but this does not even begin to cover the huge impact he has made on my life.
My freshman year was a very tough year, I was not happy with the friends I had or the school I was at or really happy with anything about my life but then Joel and I started hanging out. Joel is that kind of friend that can always make you laugh and put you in a good mood, no matter what is going on in your life. Joel was a senior my freshman year so getting to hang out with a senior and know that I was wanted in his friend group and he wanted to hang out with me made all the difference in the world to me. Joel has this amazing heart for people, and he made me want to be more like that. This sounds so cheesy but Joel taught me how to love. Not just love myself but my friends, my co-workers, my family, and total strangers. He would always tell me “life is not about you or what you feel, it is about others and what they feel” and realizing that has made a huge difference in my life. Putting others before me is actually very humbling and honestly is an amazing feeling.
Joel has also helped to motivate me and make me want to do well in all the things I do. He is the living example of what can happen if I really try my hardest, he got into his favorite college and is super smart and makes me set a standard for how much I want to succeed in life. Even now, off at college he still makes time for me and tries to challenge me in all that I do, from school, to work, to relationships with my friends and family, and everything else. Joel has helped shape the kind of person I am.