Share a story about someone who had a positive impact on your life.
If anyone says they don’t need a positive impact from others, they may not really understand what life is about.
The famous saying from the Analects (Book 7) speaks for itself: “When three people walk together, one of them is bound to be my teacher”—the lesson of three. In the journey of life, everyone impacts others and is impacted in return.
Education is one of the keys to unlocking our full potential. It facilitates personal growth, critical thinking, and the empowerment to navigate life—not just secure employment. Education is a continuous, lifelong journey encompassing formal and informal learning, fostering independence, resilience, and the capacity to contribute to society.
But today, the “lesson of three” doesn’t always work as positively as it once did. Social media culture has overtaken that era. This afternoon, while writing this on board a train, four schoolgirls next to me were shouting, screaming, and using foul language. Good peers cultivate positive impact; bad peers don’t seem to recognize what a positive impact even means.
From birth, education begins at home, then at school. Peer influence also plays a significant role. If both family and school do their part well, the “three-person teacher” might be found nearby.
The first person who impacted my life positively was my mom. She was my guardian angel, life mentor, and caretaker. Influenced by her, I developed self-discipline, confidence, and the ability to make informed choices. I absorbed the best of her personality, and that has become the strength of my life.
So, does a friend impact life positively? Or does an enemy?
Perhaps both—but that’s a story for another time.
✨✨💖 ~
en yan hua fang 