If you look for the definition of friendship in the dictionary, it will tell you it is a state of being friends; friendly relation, or attachment, to a person, or between persons; affection arising from mutual esteem. That all sounds nice, but most importantly a true friendship is a relationship that can survive the test of time and remain unconditional. Friendship for most people is a combination of affection, loyalty, love, respect, and trust. True friendship is when someone knows you better than yourself and takes a position in your best interests in a crisis.
Friendship can mean different things to different people. For some people it is simply the trust that someone will not hurt you. For others it might be unconditional love or just normal companionship. Whatever your own definition is, friendship is often considered as a mutual and agreeable relationship between two individuals as it has been said that a person who finds a true friend has found a priceless treasure. A friendship will not survive very long if only one person is making the effort to sustain the relationship without any help or recognition from other person.
A true friend may have many different good qualities, but the basic qualities that all good friends share with one another are the most important. Friendships can begin very quickly; it takes time to build into long lasting and valuable relationships. Many people have said good friends are hard to find and hard to keep. A true friend can have many different good qualities, but the qualities that add up to true friendship is the most important.
People can have many good qualities, but the traits that your true friends have are all tied together by a core of basic qualities that all good friends share with one another. Listed here are some of the most essential qualities that a person needs to have in order to qualify as a true friend:
Loyalty –
Loyalty is a quality that everyone looks for in a friend. A loyal friend will stick with you no matter what the situation is and you can always count on them being on your side.
Sensitivity –
Sensitive people make good friends because they often see life on their own terms which allows them to understand the thoughts and feeling of others.
Humor –
Life is better when approached with a good sense of humor and people that are happy and outgoing are a lot more fun to be around than someone who is depressed, moody and sees the empty half of the glass all the time.
Honesty –
Honesty may be the most important quality for friendship as it is difficult to befriend anyone who tells you lies and can’t be trusted. If you can trust someone to do the right thing in all situations and they are not tempted by temporary gain, it’s a good bet they will make a lasting friend.
Listening –
If someone just doesn’t “hear” what you’re saying when you confide in them, they won’t make a very good friend. Communication is a two-way street and being a good listener is one half of the equation.
Supportive –
A good friend will be supportive of you and your goals, and they will act accordingly. A true friend will help you become the person you want to be and know how to help you handle problems.
Generosity –
A good friend is openly generous in personality and character. They will be generous with both their time and their money, and they won’t hesitate to help you when needed.
It is not easy to be a good friend but one should always try their best to be their friend’s good friend. They should always put themselves in other people’s shoe and most importantly, they should treat others the way they want to be treated. It is not easy to find a true friend but if one has found, they should do their best to keep them by their side. Friends are the next people you can rely on other than your family members.
“A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allow you to grow.” ― William Shakespeare
BY Jasmine Ong (14)
F R I E N D S 
I like how you ended off with a quote.
Coincidentally, that was the quote that my best friend wrote on the card she gave to me on graduation day.
I definitely agree with what you think a true friend would have, especially honesty.
Honesty is the thing I look most in friendships and I’m glad that there are other people who agree with this point.
I like your definitions on friendships and how you linked it towards the qualities of friends. I agree with your views on the different qualities that friends should have.
Your sentence of “It is not easy to be a good friend but one should always try their best to be their friend’s good friend.” has certainly caught my attention and made me wonder if I could have been a better friend to my friends or not. Thanks and good job for the post Jasmine!
It is great to know what to look for in a friend and you definitely showed what are the qualities to find in a person to be your friend. Without these qualities you wrote in the post, we are bound to get hurt sooner or later by someone without any of these virtues.
Thank you for Sharing!
I like the way you defined friendship and what you look for in a friend. If you mix with the wrong people, you might just end up messed up. Good job!!!