Friendship

Friendship is at the heart of my life. Without friendship I would be lonely and feel as if I did not have a social life. I believe that everyone needs friendship in order to maintain a healthy life. I would define friendship as a relationship between two people. In my opinion I feel that you could have a friendship with anyone as long as you allow yourself to.

Different cultures believe friendship is many views. In the website Buddhist's Concept of Friendship, Mr. Arunthavanathan states that Buddhist believes "friendship is a force that has no parallel; there is no other single power that can generate good qualities in a person as friendship with the good because, after a certain age children stop emulating their parents and start imitating their friends", while Mr. Al-Bosnee stated in the website Islam & the Concept of Friendship, Muslims believe that "humans have always been social creatures and in need of friends and companions. Much of our lives are spent in interaction with others. For us Muslims who are living in a society where we are clearly a minority, the issue of choosing the right companions is essential for preserving our Deen. Befriending righteous and virtuous Muslims is an essential means for staying on the Straight Path. Strong individuals, on the other hand, are the core of a strong community, something that Muslims should always strive for".

Dictonary.com defines friendship as "the state of being a friend; a friendly relationship or intimacy; or a friendly feeling or disposition". I feel that friendships do have these properties however they can be categorized into two different types.

The first type would be an everyday friendship. This friendship could be with pretty much anyone. You can have an everyday friendship with your local grocer, postal worker, peers, teachers, co-workers, and anyone in the general public whom you come in contact with occasionally. An everyday friendship would consist of a friendly smile or a comment like, how are you doing? An everyday friendship is simple; it really does not involve any effort to maintain.

The other type of friendship would be a life long friendship. These are the friendships I hold dear to my heart. Obtaining this friendship is very easy, however maintaining it is not. The qualities of someone that I hold a life long friendship with would include good guidance, ability to give good advice, loyalty, honesty, and someone who is reliable. There will always be disagreements in this type of friendship, but being able to over-come those disagreements with each other is necessary.

My friendship with Amanda would be considered a life long friendship. I met Amanda when I transferred