Have you ever been told by somebody that if you hang out with the wrong type of crowd you'll end up like them

and they will bring you down? Or maybe you've noticed that by hanging out with a specific person a lot you

started to talk alike, use the same words or vocabulary, and perhaps even like the same things? It's possible and

true , folks!

One day I decided I wanted to boost my vocabulary because I felt that in life it makes you sound more intelligent,

and you don't really have to be, as well as dignifies your responses and your personality. People seem to

respect you and come to you and find you, well... smart! As I watched myself use more and more 'big' words, I

noticed a change in myself. It wasn't a change that I did to myself on purpose, but one that came along with

wanting something such as a bigger vocabulary. This change brought about different perspectives inside of me

regarding different situations as well as a deeper respect and better understanding for things I had once before

been confused about. I noticed people came to me because they thought that I was smart and could offer good

advice. What it did was opened my mind up to a new ray of sunshine inside and I found a lot more answers to

things I had asked myself as well as answers friends had. No, I did not think and do not think that I know it all.

As time went on I continued to hang with the same people. So I came to rest at a 'vocabulary plateau'. It

became steady and the words that were once 'big' were now 'typical'. My friends were understanding the words

that once confused them.

I changed group of friends (for an explanation: at the end we didn't get along, and no, I did not dump my former

friends because I wanted a bigger vocabulary)! The ones I kept were ones I didn't get to know too well. As time

went on again and I gained more friends, their vocabulary was smaller and so whenever I used a word even like

'ingenuity' I would have to revise my sentences to a more basic level for them. I didn't find this annoying or even

ego-feeding, but as the year passed on I didn't recognise my new habit: basifying my sentences from what I

once worked up to.

So, being in the midst of a conversation with someone my age, they used the word 'conceited'. Yes, I knew what

it meant but it had been so long since someone I could talk to, even a stranger my age, used 'conceited'

basically and perfectly. It was miraculous! My bad habit of basifying my sentences had not been broken yet. I

suppose that it will take just as long of a time to grow back up to where I was, and maybe farther.

So does this bring to the conclusion that, yes, it is true that you are under the influence when you are gathering

with the same group of people?

Some every day examples could be if you notice you've picked up a word somebody you frequently hear talk

use? Maybe they say something sort of catchy like "Obie kabie" instead of "okay baby" and now you use it

every once in a while. Or maybe you've noticed you've picked up a style of laughing that someone you know

does... maybe they scrunch their face when they laugh or the sound of their laugh is different and you've picked it

up. There are tons of different examples.

As much as it kills me to say this, your parents, your guardians, your mentors, and your advisors were all... right.

You are under the influence no matter what you do... as long as you're in public. If you go to the same spot,

aren't you likely to pick up that style? For example, a baseball park, a roller rink, a skateboarding centre. The

style, the lingo, the people