Friendship and Its Importance in Our Life

Introduction

According to the famous playwright, Shakespeare, “He that is thy friend indeed, He will help thee in thy need: If thou sorrow, he will weep; if thou wake, he cannot sleep: Thus of every grief in heart he with thee doth bear a part. These are certain signs to know faithful friend from flattering foe.”

Friendship: A Source of Support and Confidence

Now and again, we may run over circumstances where we question our choices just as abilities. In situations like these, friends help us by providing a reality check. They never disappoint us and stand beside us like a rock while we are amidst handling the most radical enemies in our lives. Genuine friends show confidence in us and also influence us to believe in our abilities, setting aside all negative feelings of envy, misery, and scorn. Thus, this essay is about the importance of friendship in our life. As Aristotle once said, "Friendship is a single soul dwelling in two bodies" (Aristotle, trans. 1991).

Friendship in Childhood and Adolescence

Amid youth, friendship helps in influencing us to understand and build up the propensity for sharing and caring. Little children develop friendships quickly and enjoy the company of their friends. They play and learn together. Friends are essential for their appropriate growth and development. As youngsters, friends become even more essential for us. We experience various emotional, physical, and mental changes during our teenage years. Many of the issues faced during this age can't be discussed with our parents and other relatives. However, we are very open to sharing these with our friends. Having great friends who can listen to our problems and provide us with support and guidance is surely a blessing during this age.

The Unconditional Support of Friends

Friends comfort us in times of need! They simply couldn't care less if the blame is yours or not; they will remain by your side at all times and, no matter what comes their way, they will constantly defend you or put their trust in you. They could have seen us in the ugliest of circumstances and appearances and still choose to stick by us through thick and thin.

The Lifelong Value of Friendship

Friendship is viewed as a genuine gift for everyone, and an individual with great friends will have an emotional support system for sharing every moment of their life, whether it is happy or sad. Friends are a critical piece of our life, and everyone feels the need for a buddy at some point or another in their life. Especially for people living far from their homes, friends are nothing short of family. They are the ones you can run up to in the midst of any crisis, as well as during the happy moments of your life. Friends are our secret keepers with whom we can share everything without the fear of being judged. The world may undergo a huge change, but friends are the people we can depend on regardless. Often known as 'siblings from different mothers,' friends keep us grounded and also help us retain the child within us, no matter how old we get or how busy we are in leading our professional and personal lives.

The Human Need for Friendship

Individuals are designed so that they are in constant need of love, care, and friendship at all times in their lives. This is the reason why we seek friendship at every point in our life. We make friends and maintain a closely-knit relationship with them because friends not only remove the feeling of emptiness from our lives but also make us feel safe and accompanied as individuals. We have seen friendships enduring for a long time and sometimes even for a lifetime, with people constantly caring for one another and maintaining a bond based on trust and care. As C.S. Lewis noted, "Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival" (Lewis, 1960).

Friendship as an Antidote to Loneliness

Not only this, it can be discouraging for every single one of us to live alone at times. In such challenging times, friendship becomes our ultimate support system and is our remedy for loneliness and depression. Receiving those late-night calls, sitting together on the same seats in the classroom, and constantly having each other's backs, friends are everything that we need for making our lives beautiful and content.

Friendship During Life's Transitions

We have all heard about the midlife crisis. An increasing number of people nowadays are experiencing this issue. Their family, job, children, and almost everyone and everything around them start to appear as a burden at this age. Having great friends around at this time can help bring about positivity amidst this emotional change. Friends are equally essential during old age. With the growing nuclear family system, couples are often left alone during their old age. If they have friends around, their life remains joyful and interesting rather than becoming dull.

Conclusion

Friendship, thus, is an indispensable part of our lives. It provides us with emotional support, helps us grow, and keeps us grounded. The bonds of friendship transcend age, time, and circumstances, offering a comforting constant in an ever-changing world. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "The only way to have a friend is to be one" (Emerson, 1841).

References

Aristotle. (1991). Nichomachean Ethics (trans. W.D. Ross). Kitchener: Batoche Books.

Emerson, R. W. (1841). Essays: First Series. Boston: James Munroe and Company.

Lewis, C. S. (1960). The Four Loves. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World.