Friends

You can't deny the power of influence close friends have. If you hang around people who are motivated, both academically and socially, you're bound to act the same way. If you hang around people who do drugs all the time, eventually you'll do drugs as well. If your friends are cheerleaders, chances are you're either a cheerleader or pretty peppy too. That's sort of the point of friends. They don't necessarily have to be your identical twin in any way, but chances are you and your friends have a lot more in common than you might think. But if you deny the influence they have over you, you're essentially denying that peer pressure exists. Sadly I have a few too many experiences with such influences, largely bad. Because of my "friends" in 7th grade I started on a downward spiral to bad grades and bad feelings. My friends at Stu were a slight improvement, but honestly I never got close enough to the people who could have done me some good to let the good vibes pour over me. Instead I got close to the people who were almost as fucked up (or just as fucked up) as me and who weren't really motivated to do anything. In 10th grade I didn't have any friends. Well, Loghman was sort of a friend, but I wouldn't really call him that. At least not in 10th grade. I had acquaintances, but not much else. And we all know how great 10th grade was. It wasn't until this year that I a) have friends and b) have friends who have a positive influence on me. So yes, I do partially "blame" my friends for my success this year.
But no I do not blame Sophie's friends for her depression. Honestly, I don't think they helped, but they didn't make it happen and they didn't make it worse. But I do believe that if Sophie hung out with people who were more academically minded, things wouldn't have been so bad. I could be wrong, but as much as my depression wasn't anyone's fault I honestly don't think it would have been so bad if I hadn't been hanging out with the people I did in 7th and 9th grade. So the fact that Sophie is ignoring this, denying that her friends have no influence over her and her choice of friends has nothing to do with her depression or low self-esteem is bullshit. Yes I have been through depression with "crappy" friends and yes I have been through some damn stressful periods with "non-crappy" friends. I know in my heart of hearts that I wouldn't have made it through the way I did if it weren't for the fact that I had Jackie and Loghman to bitch to. Sophie's never had that. So yes, I do think her friends are losers. But until she realizes that being socially fucked up and academically motivated is better than being unmotivated in general, then there's not a goddamn thing I can do. I just hope she figures it out sooner rather than later.