Did you know that people lose touch with more than half of the friends they make? A study which had charted the social lives of 2,000 people showed that on average people make about 29 real friends in their lifetime but only six last the distance. 

The characteristics of a person and the way they treat people plays a huge factor on deciphering wither or not that person is one who is truly worthy of keeping around . just like how plants need the effects of the sun, soil, and water to grow properly the impacts of the people effect we grow. We all have experienced having friends that were either good or bad for us. Looking for defining features in people to see if they will help you out in the long run by learning how to determine what is important in a friend. 

First up “Honesty is the beast policy” a common saying that I’m sure you have heard many times over and with good reason. For example, if your friend asks for your opinion on whether what they are wearing makes them look fat and you know very well its dose. However instead of saying the truth because you don’t want to hurt their feelings you say, “course not”. Now your friend would go out looking and maybe feeling uncomfortable or bad in what they wear. 

Now if you were to tell the truth and given an honest opinion you could save your friend the embarrassment and even had given them a boot of confidence in their new clothes. The truth may hurt but needs to be done, a real friend would want the best for you.

“Quality over quantity” meaning that having few good friends is better than having many fake friends as Tupac Shakur once said” the realest people don’t have many friends “. Now in most cases people will have many friends throughout their lives. However not all friends stick around to see you prosper. 

Some can pretend to be nice just to turn around and talk about you behind your back, or to use you until they have no more use for you then leave or could even be the ones plotting your own demise. I find that keeping a small close circle of friends is the best way to go. Sure, you could have plenty of fiends, but you only really need one, a really good one. Having to keep temporary friends could be really draining especially when the only time they want to talk to you is just to brag or to use you for their own convenience.

“Getting priorities straight” I was blessed to have the funniest, crazy, and smart kids as my friends in Church college Pesega. Most of us were considerate of each other and never let anyone feel left out.  We would make group chats to text and have video calls especially before exams to help quiz each other and memorizes notes that the other didn’t have. 

Going to the library was fun too because I would decide to go the library by myself or accompanied with one other person and reluctantly skip lunch with the others. when I would arrive to the library, the most crowded table wound almost instantly catch my eye. It would be filled with stacks of notes, books and to my surprise all my friends. I would go and ask them what they were doing here instead of eating and their replies would be something similar too “I came with to get work done with you some followed, and the others were already here too so were just together now” welp I guess we that’s another day of no lunch.

 Apart from making sure everyone had good grades to graduating, we would also look out for each other’s mental state. I have come to understand that many of our youth find it hard to open up about their problems especially with their parents. And mental issues such as depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts are sadly becoming a common thing and that’s were communication comes in. 

It’s really nice to have a friend to check in on you every once in a while, make you laugh for a bit or even have someone smile at you. You never know something like that can just be the very thing that helps you or a friend to find the will to go on and push through your struggles and pressure. And be that light to help them find the light at the end of the tunnel.