Great post @cristi .. it really is true that birds of a feather flock together. The good part is that as you have pointed out, we can change who we associate with or even how. I am around a variety of people, I've learned that in the social environment, I can't always physically move away but I can mentally tune out the influences I don't want.

I love to learn and expand my worldview.. I tune into others who do likewise and tune out the ones who don't.