No matter what you want to do in life, be it a teacher, politician, owning a small business or going into a trade, the people you meet professionally can massively alter your professional career. 

I used to scoff at my parents when they said that making connections is more important to move up in life than education, but lately I have been eating my words. 

With the many organizations, jobs and school activities that I have participated in, I have met a lot of adults and people my own age with varying backgrounds. These connections have paid off with letters of recommendation, internship offers, scholarships and long-term friends. 

Being young, it can be difficult to imagine your actions now paying off twenty years from now, but I have found that if you put your best foot forward, people will remember you. 

Not only making connections with adults but with people, my own age I am sure will pay off in the future. In some ways, it is true that your friends affect your future. Working at The Capitol has really proved that for me. The people that I am working with aspire to be CEOs, lawyers and politicians, these are the people that I want on my side when I need professional advice and assistance. 

I urge people my age to be more intentional with the interactions they make and the people they meet because it might just change their future.