definition essay

The True Meaning of Friendship Friendship: the state of being friends: the relationship between friends. Friends are essential throughout life. They can make or break your day. Growing up with that moral being pounded into my head constantly really got me to take that lesson to heart and apply it to my life today. I’ve helped my friends through breakups, school drama, and family struggles more times than I can count. Friendship means to have a certain connection with certain people in your life that you can trust and can be there for them through thick and thin, taking care of them when needed, being good company, and sharing experiences together because you have that certain bond that can only happen with select people. My family has always taught me to be a good friend. I need to always be there for others when no one else seems to be. Growing up with that moral being pounded into my head constantly really got me to take that lesson to heart and apply it to my life today. I’ve helped my friends through breakups, school drama, and family struggles more times than I can count. When I read Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, I took notice of the friendly ways of Okonkwo’s friends and saw the same support I give and receive today. When Okonkwo was exiled for seven years, Obierika; Okonkwo’s best friend, was there to help with the continuation of Okonkwo’s yams product while he was banished so that when he was to return home Okonkwo would not come home to nothing. Not only did he care for the yams when he wasn’t asked to, but the profit which came out of the yams product was also taken to Okonkwo by Obierika whenever he could make the journey (Achebe 123) That’s true and honorable friendship when you can leave something so dear to you so suddenly, and have such great friendly support that when you came home it was as if you never left. With being there for a friend also means to be giving advice and helping anyway possible. Problems are always occurring in our daily lives, and without friends we wouldn’t be able to get though some of those problems. To see one of my close friends go through that was heartbreaking and I knew that I needed to be there for her in anyways possible. I knew I couldn’t relate to her or give her advice on personal experiences but I knew I could give her advice on staying strong and letting her know that it had nothing in the world to do with her. I could only imagine the thoughts that were going through her head. her parents were constantly fighting for custody over her and it was extremely hard for her to choose who she wanted to legally live with. She did not want to make either of her parents that she loved so dearly to get their feelings hurt. I told her that she should do what made her happy because it was who she was going to be living with till she moved out and that she needed to talk to her parents about her decision so that they weren’t in shock. I knew that just by being there for her whenever she needed anything, I was being the best friend that I could be. There are those certain friendships that come and go throughout your entire life that the bond can never be broken no matter what the friends go through. There was a time where I had became close friends with a guy named Franky. We would talk every night and I knew I could tell him anything and he would be there to help me out in any way possible, as it was for me. then we ended up having an argument and it was as if the friendship had never existed. We didn’t talk, for a month because I was so furious with him that I had wanted nothing to do with him. Then I started to miss him, having that friend to talk to all the time that you could count on. I ended up apologizing, and in a split second it was as if that argument had never happened because our friendship was so strong the argument had no effect on it. Now we talk every night and I tell him everything that’s on my mind and he helps me so much. He really is one of my best friends and I truly cherish the friendship more than anything. Friendship is like a ship, it’s easy to sink and hard to maintain at times but when the people involved all get along and help each other out its smooth sailing. Throughout all my friendships in my entire life there has been fights in them and it was as if the ship had hit a boulder and in order to put the ship back on the sea we need to work together to repair the friendship and move on. Friends are essential in every life, they can add years to your life. without friends its like a maze with an inevitable end, but with friends you make memories along the way.

Work Cited
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York: Anchor Books, 1994. Print

Cited: Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York: Anchor Books, 1994. Print