Friends

I was always able to recognize and appreciate different kinds of friends. There are three different types of friends in this life. I categorize them according to how well I know them and how well they know me. Most people (unlike me) rarely spend time in actually classifying friends. First, there are the ‘general acquaintances’. Next, there are ‘social partners.’ Lastly, there are "best friends", our very true friends. The first type of friend is simply an acquaintance. This means that you only know their name. You might not even remember what they look like if you don’t see them for a while. Usually, you meet these types of friends in school, on the bus, in the gym, etc...; and you usually would have no problem parting company with them. You normally don’t miss them when they are absent. These types of friends give you the most amount of aggravation. Most of the time you are in a position where you have to act friendly, such as school, so you would not normally tell them when they are doing something annoying. The second category of friends is "social partners." This is because they are closer than acquaintances, but no-where near as close as a true friend. Social partners are usually acquaintances who evolve into "partners" by doing a large number of extracurricular activities together. You know their name, a little of what they like or dislike, a little of their family history, and usually have several things in common. The biggest thing that differentiates a "best friend" from a "social buddy" is the fact that "partners" usually don’t discuss their innermost desires and fears, and try to keep the topic of conversation happy and light. They do not tell you how they are really feeling. Even though you still enjoy hanging out with them, you know that when things get tough, they are not going to be there for you. The last type of friend is the "best friend." Normally, you know them for the longest amount of time. You probably grew up together as children. They know everything about you and you know everything about them. They are family and you’d have no problem if they spent the night at your house. You know each other’s habits and can always tell when there is something wrong. You would not hesitate to share your deepest feelings or thoughts with them. A true friend has no problem correcting you when you are wrong, or being harsh with you when you are out of line. Also, a true friend will love you like a member of his or her own family. They will always be there for you, and will never intentionally do anything to hurt you. On an advisory note, we should always strive to be the best friends that we can be. We should appreciate and value all friendships that come into our lives, no matter how deep or superficial. We should always remember that all best friends started out as just acquaintances.