Why it is important to have friends ?

SORARU Manon

Instructor : Heather Ditzer

Preparatory English Comp_EAPP_107_A

2/22/2015

Why it is important to have friends ?

        Before we start, we need to know what is the real definition of having friends. What do they represent in the life ? Why do we need them to feel good and find balance in our lives? Between a job, family, hobbies, social life and every day problems we need to have someone to associate with, it is very essential to have people without (outside of) that to share our feelings, happiness or problems with. Friends allow us to find a harmony through our lives. Having friends is a perfect mix between fun, support and daily life. However ,there exists many different types of relationships with people and very often it is not totally sincere.

        Through this writing, the different kinds of friendships, the different periods where we can meet real friends and what we could expect from friends will be discussed.

The analyzation of personal experiences and history with friends of when we meet them and what they represent currently. And the relationships between family and friends, and how friends are considered a part of family. It is also important to know what the exact relations are at work.

        Throughout life, people meet countless numbers of others at school, work, social events, bars or extra activities, and in all these places it is likely to form friendships. However, they never know what kind of rapports they can establish. In general, the closest friends are from school during childhood, but in some cases, it is possible to lose them after college.  During the middle and the high school they will meet people who they will spend more time with rather than with the family, this is totally normal to bond with some people. Unless for someone who has a shy character it is not complicated to develop affinities. Nonetheless, this is true that at school discriminations between people can happen. If someone is a part of a group, club, or if he is an athlete, it is easier to have friends and be part of an organization. There are many levels of difference, especially in the United States where being a member of a group is very important to socialize.

To be the new student in a school can also be an obstacle to fraternize. Every personal case is different and developing social skills is not easy.

Having friends from different periods in life does not mean necessarily keeping a good contact with every one of them. I am very lucky, I could keep the best relations with my friends from my middle school. I started to play volley ball with all of them and they are still my best friends despite our different studies and life projects.

They represent almost all my life because with them, I lived my first experiences for everything during my childhood, but also during my teenage period. They know everything about me.  Even if I am currently living in the United States they are available for me in any moment. I love them for their involvement in my life, for their comprehension, their judgment which is never bad but constructive which is also very important. They know everything about my life and I have spent my best moments with them. Of course they are not perfect, sometimes I think they should change some parts of their characters and be more like me, but reflecting on it they could think the same for me so I simply accept their share of madness and I enjoy any moment with them. Sometimes people expect too much from  their closest friends but they need to be realistic; because perfection does not exist and they should accept the defects and qualities of each.

The most important trait of a friend is to support them in any situation, bad or good moments, give advice or just listen. Being present when people need someone is the most valuable quality. Today, I can say I have real friends; on the other side of the Atlantic ocean but I know I can always rely on them.

        My real friends come from my childhood, since my first practices of volleyball I knew them and I shared so many memories with them; it has become impossible to forget them. Playing volleyball is a big part of my life and thanks to this activity I could meet my actual close friends. Sharing a common activity helped develop social skills and helped to be less shy and reach out to others. Playing volleyball always helps me feel good physically but also mentally. Indeed, I developed many skills I did not have before, one of them is the team spirit. I always have this need to be surrounded, in parallel I have also the fear to be alone, to feel abandoned, be without interests… My friends, whatever the relations, help me to feel confident and happy but also enjoy every day of my life. That is why sometimes I think about what the most important things are in life; if money, fame or power really make people happier. Being around people who are honest with us is more powerful than any wealth. It is obvious that each period of our lives is full of new meetings, but all are not authentic and people need to be careful because they can be so quickly disappointed. Naturally, regardless of the period of their life, people are the same and sometimes do not want to be sincere with others but just be mean and just want to betray the people around them. It is important to be strong and show many different characters to be able to enforce. It is easy to be disappointed by people from the youth than people from college. Being vigilant on who to trust, to not have regrets. I have met many people with whom my relations were very superb, unfortunately the distance and different paths made us separate. If the contact is really still present, it means these friendships are worth it to be experienced. But we need to think that in some circumstances, having a weak friendship with people allows us to not have feelings and just enjoy life without attachment. These types of friends appear especially during the college life when it is time to do the last crazy experiences before becoming a real adult. I used to have many relations like that, hanging out, sharing gossip, watching movies, all these things which do not require to be totally involved in a relationship that are enough to maintain a good concord.

...