01/20/2008: "Friends And Friendships"
What are friends? Friends can be many things and come in many different forms. There are the regular acquaintances that come and go. There are the ones where you have a tight bond with and then seem to just fade away. There are the ones that you hate at first and then they seem to just grow on you. I could go on and on about the people that walk on the earth that walk in and out of your life but that would take a long time because every friendship is different.
When you make friends on the first day of kindergarten you really don't think about what is happening. After all you are five. You really don't think about the effort and the importance of maintaining a good friendship. Sure you are nice and you let your friend have your apple on the second day but as you get older the relationships get a lot more complicated. People branch off and go their separate ways. They get new ideals and new philosophies that often don't agree with yours. When that happens you usually start making compromises or you can just go your separate ways. When having an effective friendship remember to: be loyal, stick up for them and don't betray them. Listen, don't talk to much to the point that your friend can't say anything that needs to be said. Be trustworthy, don't tell anyone else secrets that are meant for just your ears. Spend time together, get to know each other better by going out and doing fun things. And last be yourself, after all being you is the reason why your friend is a friend of yours.
There is a huge difference between friends and true friends. Friends come and go with time. True friends are their from the start and continue to be there through the end, whatever that end is. Think of friends as a tree. There are the leaves who come and go with the season. They are just the random people that are there and then just disappear. Remembering that every new season brings different leaves. Then there are the branches. They are the friends that you think are there for you. They seem that they will be with you until the end but as soon as you step out on those branches for help they break. When times get tough they crack under pressure or run away. But there are still those that are your roots. They are your true friends that are their for you through thick and thin. They keep you strong and provide you with everything you need. Anyone that has one or two of these "roots" consider yourself lucky because there are others who do not have them.
So everyone who reads this think about your friendships and think about how you can make them better. Think about the times you've had together and how you can make more!
Thanks for listening to my long rant about friends! I hope you will be blessed with friends that really are true!