Influential People

As cliché as this is, one person who has impacted me is my boyfriend, Seth. We started “dating” when we were 12, although our first date wasn’t until we were 16. Throughout the past six years we’ve gone through a lot together and have grown together. Seth’s family would probably say that I’m his better half, but I beg to differ. He’s definitely mine. Seth makes me want to be a better person. One reason for this is because he is so good at seeing the good in people and that is something I’m not good with at all. When I don’t like someone or when someone has done me wrong, it’s hard for me to see past that. I tend to dwell on the little things and hold grudges. This is something that I’m not proud of, but it is a part of me. For example, a friend of ours crossed a line recently and it has been hard for me to forgive her. I actually got angry at Seth for forgiving her so easily. When I asked him how it was so easy for him to forgive and forget he said, “I like to look for the good in people.” This is one trait that Seth has that I admire and I wish I could be more like him in that way. Another thing is that Seth is one of the hardest working people I know. His summers are spent working at least 40 hours a week and most weeks it’s more than that. The one problem with that is sometimes I have to remind him that it’s ok to take a day off to have some fun. However, I would much rather be with someone who is hardworking than be with someone who is too lazy to even lift a finger. Seth’s work ethic is another reason that I admire him.

A person I know who has impacted many people is my high school classmate, Stefan. During our junior year of high school, Stefan was diagnosed with brain cancer. In the beginning months of our senior year, there were many fundraisers put on by the students to raise money for Stefan’s medical bills. One fundraiser was put on by the Theater Department. Together they put on a haunted house and students were charged $1 to go through it. At one of our football games, a group of Stefan’s closest friends went around the stands asking people if they’d like to sign a card for Stefan and they were also collecting change. Another one of Stefan’s good friends made a Crowd Rise page to raise money for his medical expenses and altogether that page raised over $10,000. Lastly, there was the homecoming football game and the entire restaurant was filled with sobbing high school students. Stefan’s last wish was to meet the actor Terry Crews. Through the power of social media, our school was able to band together and get Terry Crews to come visit Stefan. Unfortunately, Stefan passed away on December 14, 2014. Even though Stefan is no longer here, he has impacted so many people with his strength through tough times. Our senior class voted him Most Memorable because even though he wasn’t able to accept the award himself, the class of 2015 will never forget Stefan.

A person who has left a mark on history is Jesus. Whether you believe that he is the son of God or not, he was still a real person and he is definitely an influential person. In 2011, there were 2.2 billion Christians on earth. That’s 31.5% of the world’s population, making Christianity the world’s most followed religion. I picked Jesus as a person who has left a mark on history because Jesus is a huge part of my religion, being a Christian. I was raised in a Christian household so I’ve heard about Jesus all of my life. Critics of Christianity would say that I was forced by my parents to be a Christian, but that’s not true. My parents exposed me to Christianity, but it was my choice to make this religion my own. The past year has been pretty hard for me and the one comfort that I found was in my relationship with God and Jesus. I find peace of mind knowing that He has a plan for me, even though I may not know what it is yet. Even during the times in the Bible, Jesus was a very influential man. He was known to make the blind see, heal the lepers, turn water into wine, walk on water, and raise from the dead. These are all very impressive things. Now, people who are not Christians may not believe that he actually did these things, but that doesn’t mean that he isn’t an influential human being. Jesus is also important in the religions of Islam and Judaism. In Islam, Jesus is an important prophet. In Judaism, Jesus is a false messiah, meaning they do not believe that he was the son of God. According to Google, there have been about 130 million books written throughout the entire world’s history. It is said that around 40% of these books were written about Jesus.

(Facts about Jesus were retrieved from http://listverse.com/2013/03/22/top-10-most-famous-people/)