I have been writing a lot of negative entries lately, due to melancholy streak I have been experiencing lately. This entry seeks to change this up. Positive and praising posts are just too rare on this blog.
While talking to Ashley H. about people who are proud of me, or rather a lack thereof, she asked me if I was proud of any of my friends. The question caught me off guard, as I had never thought of having pride in my friends before. I mulled the question over in my mind before coming up with an unlikely answer.
There is pride to be had in this friend because of the way he changed. He reaffirms my belief in the plasticity humanity and gives me hope that I can continue to change as well. Thinking about how he has grown gives me pause.
Eric
Back in high school, I used to make fun of Eric for having no personality. He was always the nice guy who was content on just going with the flow. Even though I had no vested interest in his ambitions, it inexplicably bothered me that he had none. I just could not understand how someone could be so passive and yet be so content.
Sometime in college, that all changed when Eric joined some business fraternity. He started wanting to change things because he was unsatisfied with how they were. In the beginning, the ambition was weak, he used to tell me a laundry list of problems about his fraternity, but when it came to solutions he was never willing to put in the effort. As time went by, that gradually changed. Eric took up increasingly more important leadership roles within his fraternity leading to bigger commitments and achievements. Whenever I saw Eric back at home, he seemed a little more confident, standing a just that little bit taller each time.
Most impressive of all is how Eric managed to do it all his own way. He did not turn into a dick or fake as so many do when they take up leadership positions. Eric is still that nice and chill guy that I remember from high school. I seriously think he bullies people into doing things with his niceness and that is something to be respected.
