Shakespeare once said, “Words are easy, like the wind; Faithful friends are hard to find.” I have never met a single person who doesn’t have a friend.
There are so many different types of friendship, but I think there is only one type that we as humans really need. That one type would be faithful, true friends.
How do we find these types of people? I think our life lessons shape the way we make friends.
When we are little, we usually form bonds with kids of our parents’ friends, since we are too young to do it on our own.Being little, we have a high expectation of people and make many new blossoming friendships, although they rarely last. We all grow up in our own ways, and find new people in the process.
In elementary school, I was lucky enough to find three best friends that I loved like my own siblings, but as we matured, we grew apart. Still pretty young, we were naïve enough to think we knew what friendship really was – until we experienced new ones.
Then, in middle school I had the hardest time keeping friends and making new ones. We were all maturing mentally and physically, finding ourselves, and going through our daily dose of tween drama. In those years that can really make or break a friendship.
I came out of Jr. High with no rock solid relationships. As I look back, I’m glad my situation was what it was; otherwise I wouldn’t have found the friends I have today.
High school finally came around and I have never been so hurt in my life. The people I had called my friends ruined all the self-esteem I had made for myself. It made me feel like I was a little kid again. I was too blurred by the notion of friendship, and I didn’t take the time to look at who I was friends with.
In those trying times, when I fell, there were actually people who caught me. The same people I had neglected to notice.
They didn’t care how much money I had, what I looked like, what my grades were, or what I wore. They cared if I was okay, and when the times came around when people hated me, they were still there right by my side. They showed me that what really counts is my personality; who I am. Those, readers, are what I call true friends.
So, what does Shakespeare mean in his quote? I think he is comparing something so easy to show – that finding true, real friends is pretty darn hard.
No matter how old you are, friends will always come and go, but it will be those true and faithful people who never leave, and stick by you no matter what.
