I was recently reminded of the importance of the people you associate with. Last weekend, I hosted a barbecue and invited a few friends. One, who is currently working over the summer, began telling us about his daily routine. And it was inspiring. According to his account, on a standard weekday, he wakes up at 5:45am, prepares a healthy smoothie, cycles to the gym, works out, and then changes and has breakfast (which he packs at home). Over the past five weeks, he had allegedly eaten processed sugars on only four occasions and managed to reduce his weight and body fat percentage. All this before starting an intense day at work at a prestigious corporate law firm within which, thanks to his dual citizenship, he had tremendous professional advancement opportunities on the short-term horizon. As the evening progressed, he proceeded to present detailed and well-considered thoughts and arguments about the various infrastructure plans in our city, citing several personal experiences he had had with influential players and projects. Oh and he just moved into a new place.

Law school has been a positive experience in many ways for me and, in retrospect, it’s the chance to get to know and be around people like him that I’m most thankful for. I’ve doubtless come to take this for granted a bit over the past three years, but I’ll do everything I can to keep these positive social influences as constant features in my life. There is little that can motivate me more to improve myself, broaden my horizons, and aim high than living and working among people who are driven, well-rounded, accomplished, and in-the-know. Over the past three years, my classmates have had such a beneficial impact on my personal development (indeed, it is thanks to them that I took an interest in this field in the first place) that any doubts or reservations about my decision to attend law school seem moot. It brought me out of my social isolation, opened my eyes to the social and cultural offerings of the city of Toronto, and raised my academic bar to unheard-of levels. When my friend was with us the other night, I appreciated the way in which they enriched my life and hoped that, in my own modest way, I may have had a similar effect on them.

More generally, this is the lens through which I’ve begun to view social relationships, as nexi of interpersonal influence. I try to surround myself with people who are an inspiration, whose attributes I can aspire to cultivate. Conversely, I try to enrich others’ lives, not necessarily directly but merely by providing some inspiration through my own life pursuits. Unsolicited advice is generally reviled, but more unintrusively you can offer something to others simply by living your own life.