Friendship, a Definition

Humans are social beings. It is in our nature to build relationships with one another. It is a need that can’t be denied nor ignored. For a person, it is important to be in relationship where he or she can love and be loved. Having no relationship of any kind makes us feel alone and unwanted. This is why people build friendships with one another. It is a social need that gives us self-worth. But what is friendship? What is a friend? According to the dictionary’s definition the word friend means a person attached to another by feeling of affection or personal regard. A person who gives assistance or support. Someone who is on good terms with another, a person who is not hostile or a member of the same nation or party. The word friend was taken from both Old English language frEon meaning to love and frEo meaning free.

Friendship is another form of love. It is not a lesser form of love but just another kind. Some people even consider friendship as the highest form of love. Like love, friendship is built over time through trust and acceptance. However, unlike love, friendship is not a monogamous relationship. Two people in a friendship don't need to exclude other people from their relationship as one can have two or more friends. Friendship can best be thought of as two people, side by side, moving forward together in life.

Friendship can also be defined in terms of freedom. Having a friend can also be liberating. It gives you the feeling of freedom to be yourself. To show what you really are and how you really feel. How many of us have been in a situation where we only express what we truly feel to our friends? When my ex boyfriend and I broke up, I was sad and devastated. However I didn’t want to tell anyone because I was afraid to be judged. When my very close friend found out and called me, I immediately broke down and told her how I really feel inside. It felt liberating to have someone who would listen and you can truly express yourself.

Friendship can be described in different form, as well. Acquaintance is the lowest form of friendship. This is how most friendship begins. An acquaintance is someone you meet once or few times through a common friend. You only know few basic facts about them such what their name is or where they live or work. Peers are another form of friendship. It is also called circle of friends. These are the group of people that have similarities in age, nationality, social status, point of view or ideas that come together to build friendship within the same circle. A good example of this is the movie “Mean Girls”.

Another kind of friendship is a best friend. A best friend is someone you feel very close to and treats as a family member. This is the person who knows everything about you. The good and bad aspect of your life. This person likes and does not judge you regardless of your flaws, shortcomings, or weaknesses. A friend you can talk to all the time and never get bored. You can have circle of friends but only consider one or two person as your best friend. Take for an example the TV show “Friends”. Although there are six of them in the group, Monica (one of the characters), only considers Rachel as her best friend and vice versa. A best friend is someone you trust very much.

Another classification of friendship is a soul mate. This must be the highest form of friendship. Soul mates are two people that highly respect and love one another. They feel a very strong connection regardless of the time they have known each other. At this level there is no pretensions, no more mask. Therefore,