Why did this happen? Please help!?

Question

How do you know if after having been influenced by someone if it's the true you or not? When I was 16, I was looking for a poem, and someone turned me on to Classic Literature and basically what they'd read or enjoyed. I think I read a lot of the stuff to appease them, and because I wanted to learn and found a lot of it interesting. But now that they're out of my life I'm not so much into classic lit. Had I not been influenced would I have been into classic literature? Was any of the influencing me or just them and their influence?

Answer 1

I think that you were influenced very much by this person. It could be that it wasn't the poetry you liked as much as having something in common with this person and being accepted by them.  

Answer 2

Of course we are influenced by everything we see and hear, by people we hate and admire.

Hence adverts.

Joe.  

Answer 3

"because I wanted to learn and found a lot of it interesting"

That part was you. People point you towards different paths, how you take them is up to you.

Answer 4

> Was any of the influencing me or just them and their influence? <

Hmmm! it strikes me that is a classic case of 'The Same Difference'.

I used to scour bookshops for books by an 'Allan Watts', on Buddhism.  I loved reading him, related to him through the way he wrote etc until ...One day, I just simply couldn't take any more.

I still (years later) consider myself a Buddhist, but rarely read any of the subject material about it.

Sash.