The Smallest Bit Of Help Can Go A Long Way

Friends are supposed to have each other’s backs through thick and through thin. You are supposed to stick together no matter what. This is why when a friend is in need of help, you should do what you can to give them the help that they need. Even the smallest acts can provide someone with the help and happiness that they need.

When I was younger my family went through a tough time which made it very difficult for us to keep a steady place to live. Throughout this time we moved from place to place but when the time came where we could not find an affordable  home that would provide us a good living we had to find a new solution. When my mom finally decided that we were going to make the move to New Mexico I had to do something to stop it from happening.

A few days passed by and I went to my friend Joel’s house to stay the night. We hungout and talked for a long time bringing up the move to New Mexico a lot. Joel and I decided that we would have to figure out a way to get me to stay. We made many plans but the one that stuck out the most was having me stay at his house while my mom figured something else out. We brought this idea up to Joel’s parents and, as we expected, it did not work the very first time and it was going to take some convincing. We brought this up to them at every chance we had, we told them that we would be like brothers and they would not even know I was there. We begged and begged until finally we convinced them.

Once we convinced his parents my mom and I moved in. Joel and I shared a room and we lived like brothers for the next year. We continued to be friends as normal but we were even closer than before. We became as close as brothers.  We got along like brothers but we also fought like brothers. He had given me the best kind of help that anyone could ask for. Even after all of the effort that he and I had used to get me to stay with him, we knew it would not last forever.

Months after I had moved in with Joel, my mom told me we still had to move. I knew this but what I did not know was how soon we would be moving. When she had told me that we were going to be moving within the next few months I was devastated. I told Joel and he and I tried everything to get my mom to change her mind about moving. We could not get her to change her mind. Once I finally realized how real this move was going to be I decided that I had to show Joel how thankful I was for his help.

Although Joel helped me a lot, many of the ways that I helped him were much smaller. There was no way that I could ever possibly pay him back for the help he provided me and my family. He knew this just as much as I did, but he did not mind. I helped him in little ways here and there. For example when ever we would go somewhere and he would not have enough money to pay for something I would give him the money that he needed and I would never ask for it back. I did things like this all the time in order to show him my gratitude.

Joel was also devastated when he realized how real this move was and so I figured I would have to find a way for us to still be connected while we were on opposite sides of the United States. I came up with many ways to do so but one of the best ways that I pitched to him was playing video games online with each other. We did this very often in order to stay close, we would talk over our headsets while playing games like Grand Theft Auto IV and Madden. This is where we would talk and laugh as if we were in the same room together and I had never even moved. Although when we got off of the game we knew that we were thousands of miles apart.

Joel and I also used to call each other in order to keep up with each other and talk about things like movies and music. We did this in order to keep our friendship intact incase I ever moved back. When I finally did move back these things helped our friendship by making it so that it was like I had never moved. We had talked so often that we knew everything that was going on and we never missed anything that had happened to each other.

Once I had finally moved back I had showed up to his house without letting him know. His mom opened the door and she was ecstatic. Once I had finished talking to her and telling her how New Mexico was, I went into the living room to find Joel playing video games. I walked in and said hi to Joel and his sister and we starting talking about the game that we had played online just a few days before. It was just like I had never left. I picked up one of the controllers and began to play video games with him. Everything was finally back to normal. Once we had finished playing I thanked him for convincing his parents to let us stay with them. He thanked me for staying in touch with him and his parents while we were across the country.

Friends are supposed to be people that you can rely on to help you out when you need it. Throughout my life I have been helped out my friends and I have tried to help them out just as much. Although sometimes you may not be able to help out your friends as much as they help you out, little actions can go a long way when showing someone how thankful you are for the help that they have given you.

Photo on Foter.com