Achieving Serenity

Infectious

Who you're around can make who you are

Bradley and his older brother Zach wouldn't ever admit it to themselves, or to anybody for that matter, but they were inseparable best friends. After years of growing up hanging around their own groups, eventually all their friends went their separate ways and the two brothers were the peers who stayed in each other's lives. They were roommates and would often spend time hiking, smoking marijuana and sharing ideas.

Bradley was currently working full-time at a restaurant, while Zach had quit his job several months ago, seeing it as a dead-end pathway to nowhere. Zach wanted to enter law school but was currently finishing up his Bachelor's degree online. The two brothers were hiking one day when an insidious feeling overcame Bradley- he hated his job. He saw his own managerial position at the restaurant as being extremely pointless, and contradictory of where he wants to be in life. He envied his brother, who was able to sit back and use saved-up funds to pay for rent while taking on a new prosperous lifestyle. Bradley himself had saved up a good amount of money, and quitting seemed like a viable option.

Unbeknown to Bradley, Zach was second-guessing his own law career-choice. He didn't have any regrets of quitting his job but saw that he was running out of money and needed to get employed quickly. He envied Bradley, who was working hard each and every day to earn an honest buck. These hikes must be so much more relaxing and unwinding to Bradley, who spends countless hours on end dealing with customers. Zach saw his life and found himself in a comfortable rut, where he simply did not want to look for a new job and knew that his rich parents could bail him out, worst case scenario.

They were both inspirations to each other, which proved to have just as negative consequences as it could positive. Bradley, to the shock of his co-workers, quit his job one day and though there were some guilt and slight remorse, he couldn't have felt happier to metaphorically throw his work papers in the air and never return. When Zach learned about his brother's decision to leave his job, he felt an unusual yet pleasant comfort associated with the learned knowledge. Zach was starting to really feel like an outcast- like someone who is going nowhere fast. But now that his intelligent and respected brother Bradley is in the same boat that he's in, he finds it's a misery that is yet even more comfortable.

Months past and Bradley finds himself very confused and scared for his future. He doesn't know what he where his passion is, and questions his role in the universe. Bradley feels useless and questions this existential crisis on a daily basis. Zach still hasn't entered law school even though he did successfully receive his Bachelor's degree. Zach is still certain that one day he will be a lawyer, and this dream proves to not only be his motivation each day but also to be his sole reason for tolerating life.

The parents of Bradley and Zach are beginning to grow concerned of their 30-year-old, unemployed sons. Bradley is always coming up with new ideas of what he wants to do, and he has a narcissistic ego that makes him believe he can do anything and better than anyone, yet he lacks the focus to stay on one path. Zach talks about entering law school, but his actions don't appear to coincide with his verbal desires. A year after Bradley quits his job, the two boys are still living stagnant lives until finally, growing tired of talking about it at family dinners Zach enters law school. It took being financially cut off by their parents to motivate change.

Two weeks after Zach enters law school, Bradley goes back to college as well for software engineering. The two brothers go on to live prosperous, lucrative lives and remain the best of friends, yet still never acknowledging it. The brothers were smart, but they were never willing to admit blatant facts that were staring them in the face: Who you spend the most time with can make you are. The two were destined to get down to the basics- paper and pencil their problems out and analyze what needs to be solved, but they were infecting each other with their slothful ways until one brother broke the vicious cycle.