What is a True Friend.

Friend–It’s a word that is thrown around almost as much as love. They have a lot in common, people use them when they don’t truly mean it? They say it for a lack of better words, and they leave the responsibility of being a friend at the word itself. what I mean by that is when you get a call at 2 AM from your “friend” saying their car broke down and their 2 hours away from home, some “Friends” would wish you the best, hang up the phone and go back to bed without batting an eye; But your real friends would be up and out the door on their way to you in a matter of 20 minutes. A real friend will tell you how it really is, not how you want it to be. A real friend will argue with you, fight with you and get on your nerves, but there is nothing on this earth they wouldn’t do for you. My best friend is like a brother to me, he has gone through more in his young adult life than most people deserve to go through in a lifetime. He’s my best friend, I’ve given him rides up to 3 hours away, i’ve given him clean clothes, and food, he lived with me for a year and a half. The word friend means a lot to some of us, to some of us it means a responsibility to be there when no one else is. It’s giving a helping hand even though you may not agree with what they’re doing one hundred percent. My best friend was a grade lower than me, he moved around a lot but we always stayed in close contact and hung out almost every weekend. He had a rough home life and when his parents separated he was left in the middle and had problems with both his parents. I took him in and gave him food, water, clothes, a ride to and from school, anything he needed I was there for. If he called me in the middle of the night I would always answer. That’s being a true friend in my eyes.

The favor was always repaid, any time I needed help it never mattered what the time was, or what the work was he was always there. I remember one time I had hurt my back while at work but my grandmother needed me to shovel off her roof from the last big snow storm. So he came from Gray to Litchfield to shovel her roof. Being a friend means more than just being there for your friend, it’s about caring for the families too. It’s always being there when you’re needed and always being willing to lend a helping hand. True friends are very rare in today’s world, I personally feel as though I have a core 5 friends and I don’t need anyone else but them, because they are always the people I turn to when things go wrong. People like that have some of the biggest influences in your life, they help us figure out what kind of stuff we like to do, when we like to do it, they introduce you to new people and experiences. So to those few friends I say thank you, and I encourage everyone to really look at who has always been there for you through thick and thin. Even though you guys may fight and argue a lot, sometimes those are the people who care the most. In my opinion when you agree to be someone’s friend it means more than giving them the answers on a test or helping them with their homework. I have a really close friend of mine, who means the world to me. She can see me down the end of the hall and she can tell what kind of mood i’m in, in a matter of seconds. She knows all my emotions and how to talk to me and help me with all of them. I’ve called her out of nowhere to vent and she has done the same. She encouraged me to make amends with all those that I had issues with in the past.

Because of friends like that I take a lot of pride in knowing that I don’t have a many people that I am on bad terms with. I can get along with everyone and see everyone for the positive side that we all have! Friends are more than just buddies to hang out with, they are the people who know everything about you and won’t leave you like a significant other can. They are the ones you can always depend on at the end of the day and you know you can count on when the world around you is in turmoil. Through a lost job, a lost pet, you lose your girlfriend/ boyfriend, your family passes, no matter what the situation is, the feeling you get when you are there for someone going through hell is amazing. to See them get better and knowing that you were apart of that and helping them reach the best they can be is always amazing and when they do the same for you, you know you have made a life long friend. In most cases you stop becoming friends and you start to become a family almost. You start to care about their family as if they were your own, and you’ll find yourself helping them move, clean, cook, you’ll find yourself hanging out with their family as if they were your own. Last Monday I came home from a class I take in Topsham and I found my friend just sitting on my couch, he welcomed me with “Jesus Christ, I’ve been here since 7!”. A big smile spread across my face and we sat and talked for an hour or so, people will always float in and out of your life, and you should pay no mind to them. Yet the ones who will walk through hell with you and still be willing to walk through it again with you.

Photo by mr-football on Foter.com / CC BY-ND