"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out."
- Anon
"Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. Walk beside me and be my friend.
- Albert Camus
"Everyone hears what you say. Friends listen to what you say. Best friends listen to what you don't say."
- Anon
"Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart."
- Anon
And here are some traits that you will encounter in a true friend :
Concern:
A matter that engages a person's attention, interest, or care, or that affects a person's welfare or happiness. Caring about people and vice versa comes with looking out for their well-being. When I, personally, think of this, I think of friends offering advice I might not necessarily want to hear. In they end, friends will try to do what they can to end up with a positive resolution to anything happening in their friends lives.
Compassion:
A feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering. This could be running to Wal-Mart and picking up meds for a viral plague of a friend, forcing them to change out of a hideous outfit before they're seen in the public eye, and other endless opportunities to bring out a silver lining from a cruddy situation.
Honesty:
Truthfulness, sincerity, or frankness. You may have heard that this is the best policy, even if the truth hurts. It will sometimes test your strength and bravery at some point, but this isn't something you can just brush off; you have to face it. Whether it's an opinion on a significant other, their professional work, or which phone they should upgrade to, tell the truth. Tell the truth. Tell the truth. There are times where it might hurt, but it'll never be worse than being lied to.
Understanding:
A state of cooperative or mutually tolerant relations between people. The word "tolerant" in this definition made me laugh. In healthy relationships, the parties involved are able to be themselves from the most modest to the most looney of the crazies. I'm not sure how it is with your posse, but most of mine are very different from each other; this leaves room for teasing, laughing, and embracing the fact that we're all individually ourselves and not afraid to show it.
Support:
To sustain (a person, the mind, spirits, courage, etc.) under trial or affliction. We're all going to face new challenges, people, tastes... people are constantly evolving themselves as a person and we need secure relationships around us to keep going (whether or not we're conscious of this fact). I know for sure that if I didn't have support from friends and family when I changed my major a handful of semesters ago, I would probably have been hesitant and lacked the confidence that I do have. This is probably the most reciprocated of all the friendship ideals: watch their back and they'll watch yours. Encourage their endeavors and they'll watch yours. Motivate them and... well, you get the picture by now, I imagine.
Companionship :
One value of friendship which many find extremely important is the companionship aspect of it. Whether you are hanging out with your friends in between classes or going to the movies with them during the weekend, you will find that having friends is a really great thing. Friends are companions who will keep you occupied and individuals who you can have a great time with all the time.
Conversation : Even if you can't get together with your friends you can usually get a hold of them by phone, email or text messaging. Conversation, whether actual or virtual, is another value which people consider with regard to friendship. Everyone needs to talk and share their thoughts and feelings and friends are great in providing this for you. Good conversation usually equals a great friendship.
Helping Hand When Needed:
#justSaying
Image via Wikipedia
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