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The Importance of Friendship
Friendships are a crucial part of living a fulfilling life..
Posted July 26, 2021 | Reviewed by Ekua Hagan
- Friendship makes life more enjoyable and enriches one's everyday experiences.
- Finding friends can be challenging but can be often achieved by approaching others with mutual interests.
- The first criteria one should look for in a partner is someone who is ultimately a good friend to them.
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As we move through life, we find that there are many things out of our control. We can’t choose our parents, our genetics , or control the things that happen in the world around us. One thing that we can control is who our friends are, and this decision can either make our lives so much richer and beautiful, or more stressful and disappointing. Today we’ll focus on how to choose friends who enrich our lives and make them more beautiful.
Why friends are so important
Having solid friendships is important for two main reasons. First, they make life more enjoyable. We get to share the beautiful aspects of life with people who we love, which can enrich our everyday experiences. Second, our friends help us through the difficult times. Having friends to support us through hard times can make unimaginably difficult situations seem more tolerable.
The most beautiful part about pouring our time and energy into friendships is that not only do friends help enrich our lives, but we enrich theirs too! Friendships get us through the tough times in life, make things more fun and enjoyable, and all-around make our lives better. I urge you to take stock of your friendships and ask yourself if your current friends people build you up and support you, or is the friendship more one-sided?
As we explore friendships today, these are also inclusive of our partners. I believe that the foundation for any healthy relationship is friendship. So it’s important to group our romantic partners into this conversation too.
So, where do we find friends? This might sound silly, but finding friends can be challenging! When I first moved to California for my Ph.D., I didn’t have any friends out here. There were quite a few people in my program that I enjoyed spending time with. But, towards the end of school, they became very busy and were no longer able to dedicate time to hang out anymore. Thankfully, through the help of a very good therapist, I learned that it was important to enjoy life instead of striving for excellence all of the time. As a result, I learned how important it was to carve out time in my life for friends.
Unfortunately, the people I had dedicated time to thus far were achievement-oriented and were pouring their time into work and not our friendships. This forced me to seek out other ways to form connections with people. I ended up finding a local hiking group with the hopes of meeting people with similar interests. During one of these hikes, I met Jim, one of my best friends to this day.
We became instant friends. We have continued to support each other over the years, and even more importantly, we always make time for one another. We both view the friendship as one that makes each other’s lives better, therefore it’s always worth the time and energy. The backbone of any successful friendship is one where both sides put in equal effort and support.
Both Jim and I were forced to put in more effort when he moved across the country to the East Coast. Because we already had such a strong foundation, this didn’t impact our friendship. We talk all of the time and see each other several times a year. We make the relationship a priority no matter what coast each other is on. Like anything in life that is valuable to us, we must work at it and put time and effort into it.
When it's time to move on from a friendship
The second part of the friendship discussion can be a difficult one — reassessing your current friendships and potentially moving on from friends who don’t add value to your life.
Two of my best friends from high school went down different paths from me. We still keep in contact, but I don’t spend too much time with them anymore. The supporting, loving part of our relationship wasn’t there anymore, so it was no longer worth putting energy into maintaining a friendship that had changed so much.
This may be a story you can relate to. What I hope you take away from this post is this — friendships take energy, time, and commitment. And if you’re putting your time and energy into someone who isn’t enriching your life and giving you the support you need, it may be time to reevaluate that friendship.
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If you find yourself in the market for friends (who isn’t?) I recommend you find groups or activities that you genuinely enjoy. This way you’ll have the opportunity to connect with people who have similar interests. And once you’re there, take a risk! Talk to people, exchange contact information, and follow up with them. It may feel scary at first, but the reward outweighs the momentary uncomfortable feeling you may have.
Friendship and dating
In many ways, the most important friendship in our lives is the one we have with our romantic partners. The first criteria we should look for in this partner is someone who is ultimately a good friend to us, meaning that they are kind, positive, loving, and supportive. If we’re dating someone and they’re a jerk, it’s probably safe to assume that they’re not a good friend. To avoid this, I recommend seeking out someone who is a good friend first, i.e. before the romance and sexual stuff gets in the way.
When there are bumps in a friendship or a romantic relationship , it’s important to work through those tough times. The tricky part is that it will take two people to fix that issue. We can only control our actions and hold ourselves accountable, but we cannot control our friend or our partner's reaction. In addition to our own actions, we have control over the friends or partners that we choose in the first place. If we prioritize choosing good people who we can trust will work through issues with us, then we can work through anything.
Friendships are a crucial part of living a fulfilling life. It’s so important that we surround ourselves with people who we have fun with, who support us, and people who make us better. You may already have beautiful friendships in your life, but if you’re still in the market for friends, it’s never too late to cultivate new relationships that will make your life even more magnificent.
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Robert Puff, Ph.D. , is host and producer of the Happiness Podcast, with over 16 million downloads.
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Essay on Friendship
List of essays on friendship, essay on friendship – short essay for kids (essay 1 – 150 words), essay on friendship – 10 lines on friendship written in english (essay 2 – 250 words), essay on friendship – for school students (class 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7) (essay 3 – 300 words), essay on friendship – for students (essay 4 – 400 words), essay on friendship (essay 5 – 500 words), essay on friendship – introduction, benefits and qualities (essay 6 – 600 words), essay on friendship – essay on true friendship (essay 7 – 750 words), essay on friendship – importance, types, examples and conclusion (essay 8 – 1000 words).
Friendship is a divine relationship, which is defined by neither blood nor any other similarity. Who is in this world does not have a friend?
A friend, with whom you just love to spend your time, can share your joys and sorrows. Most importantly you need not fake yourself and just be what you are. That is what friendship is all about. It is one of the most beautiful of the relations in the world. Students of today need to understand the values of friendship and therefore we have composed different long essays for students as well as short essays.
Audience: The below given essays are exclusively written for school students (Class 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 Standard).
Introduction:
Friendship is considered as one of the treasures that anyone can possess. God has given us the liberty to choose friends because they are for our lifetime. It is quite normal for our parents and siblings to love us because they are our own blood but a friend is someone who is initially a stranger and then takes his/her place above all the other relations. Friendship is nothing but pure love without any expectations.
Role of a Friend:
True friends share and support each other even during the toughest of times. A true friend is one who feels happy for our success, who feel sad for our failures, fight with us for silly things and hugs us the next second, gets angry on us when we do any mistakes. Friendship is all about having true friends who can understand us without the need for us to speak.
Conclusion:
Friendship is very essential for a happy life. Even a two-minute chat with a friend will make us forget our worries. That is the strength of friendship.
Friendship is a divine relationship, which is defined by neither blood nor any other similarity. Friends are those you can choose for yourself in spite of the difference you both have from each other. A good friend in need will do wonders in your life, whenever you are in need of self-realization, upbringing your confidence and more.
Friendship serves you best not only in your happiest moments but also when you feel low in emotions. A life without a good friend is not at all complete and an emptiness will be felt all the time you think of sharing your emotion that can’t be told to anyone else.
Honesty and Patience in Friendship:
To maintain and keep going with a good deep friendship, honesty is the most important factor. You should choose a person who can be cent percent honest with you in all perspective like emotions, decision making, etc. Trustworthy friendship will help you to take better decisions and choose a better path for your future well-being.
Tolerance and patience with each other are another important characteristics of long-lasting friendship. Accepting the differences, friends should be able to be with each other in all situations. As a friend, the person should lead the other to success by being a motivation and criticize the person if they choose the wrong path.
Friendship will give you sweet and happy memories that can be cherished for a lifetime and if you succeed in maintaining that precious relation, then you are the luckiest person in this world. Love and care for each other will cherish the relationship and helps the person to appreciate each thing done without any fail.
Of all the different relations which we indulge in, friendship is considered to be the purest of them all. Friendship is the true confluence of souls with like minded attitude that aids in seamless conversation and the best of times. It is believed that a person who doesn’t have any friend lives one of the toughest lives.
The Desire to Belong:
Each one of us have been so programmed that we need a companion even if it’s not romantic, someone just to tag along. There are several definitions of friendship and it is upon you as to how you believe your relation to be. Friendship can happen when you are simply sharing a bowl of food with a person day after day. It can be expressed in the way you silently care for someone even when they may not be aware of your existence.
The Little Moments that Matter:
It is giving up the little things you love dearly for the sake of someone you cherish a great deal. Friendship often refers to the little moments of senseless laugh you two share when the rest of the world starts to look bleak. It is to know what your friend needs and being there for them even when the rest of the world has turned their back towards them.
Friendship is the kind of relation which sometimes even exceeds the realms of love because it is all about giving without even once bothering to sense what you shall get back. Every time spent is special because when you are with friends, you don’t feel the blues!
The Bottom-Line:
Of course the definition of friendship is going to vary a great deal from one person to another. But, remember one thing, when you are friends with someone, be prepared to put your heart on the line for their happiness because friendship often manifests into love, even if it is not romantic, it always is true!
Friendship is the most valuable as well as precious gifts of life. Friendship is one of the most valued relationship. People who have good friends enjoy the most in their live. True friendship is based on loyalty & support. A good friend is a person who will stand with you when times are tough. A friend is someone special on whom you can rely on to celebrate a special moment. Friendship is like a life asset and it can lead us to success. It all depends on our choice how we choose our friends.
The quality of friendship is essential for happiness. The benefits of healthy friendship remains long-life. In addition, having a strong friend circle also improves our self-confidence. Due to the strong relationship, we get much emotional support during our bad times. True friendship is a feeling of love & care.
Real friendship cannot be built within limited boundaries like caste or creed. It gives us a feeling that someone really needs us & we are not alone. This is true that man cannot live alone. True friends are needed in every stage of life to survive. A true friend can be an old person or a child. But it is generally believed that we make friend with people who are of the same age as ours. Same age group can give you the freedom to share anything.
The selection of a true friend is also a challenging task. We have to carefully make our friend selection. Friends might come & go. They will make you laugh & cry. Wrong selection can create various problems for you. In the modern world, many youngsters become a social nuisance. The reason behind it is wrong & bad friendships.
But if we successfully choose the right person as a friend then our life becomes easier. It doesn’t matter who you are, what type of clothes you wear. The most important thing is trust because the relation of friendship stands on the pillars of trust.
Friendship is a relation which can make or break us in every stage of life. But in other words, friendship is an asset which is really precious. Obviously, it is also not so easy to maintain friendships. It demands your time as well as efforts. Last but not the least, it is hard to find true friendship but once you succeed in this task you will have a wonderful time. In exchange for that a friend will only need your valuable time and trust.
The idea of friendship is either heartwarming or gives cold feet depending on individuals and the types of friendships. In the current world, friendships have had different definitions based on the morality and civilization of the society. Ideally, friendship is defined as the state of mutual trust between individuals or parties. Trust is an important component of friendship because it determines the reliability and longevity of the friendship. Trust is built through honest communications between the individuals and interested parties.
Once trust has been established, mutual understanding and support being to form the resulting in a friendship. This friendship can be broken through lack of trust. Trust can be breached through deceit and/ or some people, it differs with the frequencies. There are people who will break friendships after only one episode of dishonesty whereas some people give second chances and even more chances. Friendship types determine the longevity and the causes of breakups. The importance of friendship in the lives of individuals is the reason why friendships are formed in the first place.
Types of Friendships:
According to Aristotle’s Nichomachean ethics, there are three types of friendships. The friendships are based on three factors i.e. utility, pleasure and goodness. The first type of friendship is based on utility and has been described as a friendship whereby both parties gain from each other.
This type of friendship is dependent on the benefits and that is what keeps the friendship going. This type of friendships do not last long because it dissolves as soon as the benefits are outsourced or when other sources are found outside the friendship. The friendship was invented for trade purposes because when two people with opposite things that depend on each other re put together, trade is maximized.
The second type of friendship is based on pleasure. This is described as friendship in which two individuals are drawn to each other based on desires of pleasure and is characterized by passionate feelings and feelings of belonging. This type of friendship can ether last long or is short-lived depending on the presence of the attraction between the two parties.
The third type of friendship is based on goodness. In this friendship, the goodness of people draw them to each other and they usually have the same virtues. The friendship involves loving each other and expecting goodness. It takes long to develop this kind of friendship but it usually lasts longest and is actually the best kind of friendship to be in. the importance of such a friendship is the social support and love.
In conclusion, friendships are important in the lives of individuals. Trust builds and sustains friendships. The different types of friendships are important because they provide benefits and social support. Friendships provide a feeling of belonging and dependence. The durability of friendships is dependent on the basis of its formation and the intention during the formation. Friendships that last long are not based on materialistic gain, instead, they are based on pure emotion.
Friendship is an emotion of care, mutual trust, and fondness among two persons. A friend might be a work-mate, buddy, fellow student or any individual with whom we feel an attachment.
In friendship, people have a mutual exchange of sentiments and faith too. Usually, the friendship nurtures more amongst those people who belong to a similar age as they possess the same passions, interests, sentiments, and opinions. During the school days, kids who belong to the similar age group have a common dream about their future and this makes them all of them get closer in friendship.
In the same way, employees working in business organizations also make friends as they are working together for attaining the organizational objectives. It does not matter that to which age group you belong, friendship can happen at any time of your life.
Benefits of Friendship:
Sometimes friendship is essential in our life. Below are a few benefits of friendship.
1. It’s impossible to live your life alone always but friendship fills that gap quickly with the friend’s company.
2. You can easily pass the rigidities of life with the friendship as in your distress period your friends are always there to help you.
3. Friendship teaches you how to remain happy in life.
4. In case of any confusion or problem, your friendship will always benefit you with good opinions.
True and Dishonest Friendship:
True friendship is very rare in today’s times. There are so many persons who support only those people who are in power so that they can fulfil their selfish motives below the name of friendship. They stay with friends till the time their selfish requirements are achieved. Dishonest friends leave people as soon as their power gets vanished. You can find these types of self-seeking friends all around the world who are quite hurtful than enemies.
Finding a true friendship is very difficult. A true friend helps the other friend who is in need. It does not matter to him that his friend is right or wrong but he will always support his friend at the time of his difficulty.
Carefulness in the Selection of Friendship:
You must be very careful while choosing friends. You should nurture your friendship with that person who does not leave you in your bad times easily. Once you get emotionally attached to the wrong person you cannot finish your friendship so soon. True friendship continues till the time of your last breaths and does not change with the passing time.
Friendship with a bad person also affects your own thoughts and habits. Therefore, a bad person should not be chosen in any type of circumstances. We must do friendship with full attention and carefulness.
Best Qualities of Good Friendship:
Good friendship provides people an enormous love to each other.
The below are the important qualities of good friendship:
1. Good friendship is always faithful, honest, and truthful.
2. People pay attention and take note of others thoughts in good friendship.
3. Persons quickly forget and let off the mistakes of the other friend. In fact, they accept their friend in the way they are actually.
4. You are not judged on the basis of your success, money or power in it.
5. Friends do not feel shy to provide us with valuable opinions for our welfare.
6. People always share their joyful times with their good friends and also stay ready to help their friends in the time of need.
7. True friends also support others in their professional as well as personal life. They encourage their friends in the area of their interest.
Friendship is established over the sacrifice, love, faith, and concern of mutual benefit. True Friendship is a support and a blessing for everybody. All those males and females who have true and genuine friends are very lucky really.
Friendship can simply be defined as a form of mutual relationship or understanding between two people or more who interact and are attached to one another in a manner that is friendly. A friendship is a serious relationship of devotion between two or more people where people involved have a true and sincere feeling of affection, care and love towards each other devoid of any misunderstanding and without demands.
Primarily friendship happens between people that have the same sentiments, feelings and tastes. It is believed that there is no limit or criteria for friendship. All of the different creed, religion, caste, position, sex and age do not matter when it comes to friendship even though friendships can sometimes be damaged by economic disparity and other forms of differentiation. From all of these, it can be concluded that real and true friendship is very possible between people that have a uniform status and are like-minded.
A lot of friends we have in the world today only remain together in times of prosperity and absence of problems but only the faithful, sincere and true friends remain all through the troubles, times of hardships and our bad times. We only discover who our bad and good friends are in the times where we don’t have things going our way.
Most people want to be friends with people with money and we can’t really know if our friends are true when we have money and do not need their help, we only discover our true friends when we need their help in terms of money or any other form of support. A lot of friendships have been jeopardised because of money and the absence or presence of it.
Sometimes, we might face difficulty or crises in our friendships because of self-respect and ego. Friendships can be affected by us or others and we need to try to strike a balance in our friendships. For our friendship to prosper and be true, we need satisfaction, proper understanding and a trustworthy nature. As true friends, we should never exploit our friends but instead do our utmost best to motivate and support them in doing and attaining the very best things in life.
The true meaning of friendship is sometimes lost because of encounters with fake friends who have used and exploited us for their own personal benefits. People like this tend to end the friendship once they get what they want or stab their supposed friends in the back just to get what they think is best for them. Friendship is a very good thing that can help meet our need for companionship and other emotional needs.
In the world we live in today, it is extremely difficult to come across good and loyal friends and this daunting task isn’t made any easier by the lie and deceit of a lot of people in this generation. So, when one finds a very good and loyal important, it is like finding gold and one should do everything to keep friends like that.
The pursuit of true friendship Is not limited to humans, we can as well find good friends in animals; for example, it is a popular belief that dogs make the best friends. It is very important to have good friends as they help us in times and situations where we are down and facing difficulties. Our true friends always do their best to save us when we are in danger and also provide us with timely and good advice. True friends are priceless assets in our lives, they share our pains and sorrow, help provide relief to us in terrible situations and do their best to make us happy.
Friends can both be the good or the bad types. Good friends help push us on the right path in life while on the other hand, bad friends don’t care about us but only care about themselves and can lead us into the wrong path; because of this, we have to be absolutely careful when choosing our friends in this life.
Bad friends can ruin our lives completely so we have to be weary of them and do our best to avoid bag friends totally. We need friends in our life that will be there for us at every point in time and will share all of our feeling with us, both the good and bad. We need friends we can talk to anytime we are feeling lonely, friends that will make us laugh and smile anytime we are feeling sad.
What is friendship? It is the purest form of relationship between two individual with no hidden agenda. As per the dictionary, it is the mutual affection between people. But, is it just a mutual affection? Not always, as in the case of best friends, it is far beyond that. Great friends share each other’s feelings or notions which bring a feeling of prosperity and mental fulfillment.
A friend is a person whom one can know deeply, as and trust for eternity. Rather than having some likeness in the idea of two people associated with the friendship, they have some extraordinary qualities yet they want to be with each other without changing their uniqueness. By and large, friends spur each other without censuring, however at times great friends scrutinize do affect you in a positive manner.
Importance of Friendship:
It is very important to have a friend in life. Each friend is vital and their significance in known to us when certain circumstances emerge which must be supported by our friends. One can never feel lonely in this world on the off chance that he or she is embraced by true friends. Then again, depression wins in the lives of the individuals who don’t have friends regardless of billions of individuals present on the planet. Friends are particularly vital amid times of emergency and hardships. On the off chance that you wind up experiencing a hard time, having a friend to help you through can make the change simpler.
Having friends you can depend on can help your confidence. Then again, an absence of friends can make you feel lonely and without help, which makes you powerless for different issues, for example, sadness and drug abuse. Having no less than one individual you can depend on will formulate your confidence.
Choosing Your Friends Wisely:
Not all friends can instill the positivity in your life. There can be negative effects as well. It is very important to choose your friends with utmost wisdom. Picking the right friend is somewhat troublesome task however it is extremely important. In the event that for instance a couple of our dear friends are engaged with negative behaviour patterns, for example, smoking, drinking and taking drugs, at some point or another we will be attracted to their bad habits as well. This is the reason behind why it is appropriate to settle on an appropriate decision with regards to making friends.
Genuine friendship is truly a gift delighted in by a couple. The individuals who have it ought to express gratitude toward God for having genuine pearls in their lives and the individuals who don’t have a couple of good friends ought to always take a stab at better approaches to anchor great friends. No organization is superior to having a friend close by in the midst of need. You will stay cheerful in your one-room flat on the off chance that you are surrounded by your friends; then again, you can’t discover satisfaction even in your estate in the event that you are far away from others.
Types of Friends:
There is variety everywhere, so why not in friends. We can see different types of friends during our journey of life. For instance, your best friend at school is someone with whom you just get along the most. That friend, especially in the case of girls, may just get annoyed even if you talk to another of your friend more than her. Such is the childish nature of such friendships that at times it is difficult for others to identify whether you are best friends or competitors.
Then there is another category of your siblings. No matter how much you deny, but your siblings or your elder brother and sisters are those friends of yours who stay on with you for your entire life. You have a different set of friendship with them as you find yourself fighting with them most of the times. However, in times of need, you shall see that they are first ones standing behind you, supporting you.
There is another category of friends called professional friends. You come across such friends only when you grow up and choose a profession for yourself. These friends are usually from the same organisation and prove to be helpful during your settling years. Some of them tend to stay on with you even when you change companies.
Friendship Examples from History:
History has always taught us a lot. Examples of true friendship are not far behind. We have some famous example from history which makes us realise the true value of friendship. The topmost of them are the Krishna and Sudama friendship. We all must have read or heard as to how after becoming a king when Krishna met Sudama, his childhood friend, he treated him with honour even though Sudama was a poor person. It teaches us the friendship need not be between equals. It has to be between likeminded people. Next example is of Karna and Duryodhana, again from the Mahabharat era.
Despite knowing the fact that the Pandavas were his brothers, Karna went on to fight alongside Duryodhan as he is his best friend and even laid down his life for him. What more example of true friendship can one find? Again from the same era, Krishna and Arjun are also referred to as the best of the friends. Bhagavad Gita is an example of how a true friend can guide you towards positivity in life and make you follow the path of Dharma. Similarly, there are numerous examples from history which teach us the values of true friendship and the need to nourish such for own good.
Whether you accept or deny it, a friend plays an important role in your life. In fact, it is very important to have a friend. However, at the same time, it is extremely important to choose the friends wisely as they are the ones who can build you or destroy you. Nonetheless, a friend’s company is something which one enjoys all through life and friends should be treated as the best treasure a man can have.
Friendship , Relationship
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Greater Good Science Center • Magazine • In Action • In Education
Why Your Friends Are More Important Than You Think
Researchers and philosophers have explored in great detail the emotional dramas of love and family. But they’ve spent much less time pondering the deep satisfaction of a good friend.
A similar thing happens in our own lives, writes science journalist Lydia Denworth. When something’s gotta give, it’s often our friendships, which take a backseat to our family and work obligations—or our latest fling.
But that’s a mistake, she argues in her new book, Friendship: The Evolution, Biology, and Extraordinary Power of Life’s Fundamental Bond . In fact, research suggests that friendships can help us find purpose and meaning, stay healthy, and live longer. The intimacy, support, equality, and emotional bonds we have in our friendships are unique.
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Her book honors the relationships forged through slumber parties, shoulders cried upon, and kindnesses that don’t need to be repaid. “The science of friendship gives you permission to hang out with your friends and call it healthy,” she says. “You’re not being indulgent.” In a conversation with Greater Good , Denworth explains why we need our friends and how to keep those connections strong—even in a pandemic.
Kira Newman: How does friendship change for people across their lifespan?
Lydia Denworth: When you’re very young, of course, your primary social relationship is with your parents or caregivers. But when kids go to school, they start to have deeper friendships that involve, first, doing things together, and then a deeper, shared emotional element. Then in adolescence, it becomes even more abstract and relational.
All the way through high school and college, friendships can feel easy because you are thrown into an environment where you have lots of same-age peers and the pool of potential friends is big. Also, when you’re an adolescent, your brain is as attuned to social signals and connection as it will ever be. You are really hyper-interested in social activity.
Then in adulthood, as people start to have jobs and maybe get married or have a family, it can become harder to spend time with your friends. Toward the end of life, we tend to come back around to having a little bit more time once kids are grown and careers and jobs are less demanding.
There are these transition points in life when it’s easier or harder to spend time with friends, but what is important for people to know is that friendship is a lifelong endeavor and that it is something that people should be paying attention to at all points in life. I think that people sometimes think (especially in their 30s and 40s), “I just don’t have time for friends right now,” and that’s a mistake.
If you get to be 65 and then now you’re ready to start paying attention to friends, well, it’s a little bit like stopping smoking when you’re 65. If you go from 15 to 65 and you smoke the whole time, it’s still better to stop than not, but some damage will have been done. And if you don’t pay attention to friends all the way along, the same thing is true.
KN: You observe in your book that we tend to neglect our friendships when we get busy, more so than other relationships. Can you say more about that?
LD: The reason we do that is that we feel more beholden to our family that we’re related to, and that makes plenty of sense—we’re legally and biologically connected to our family members. So, I’m not saying that we should be spending a lot less time with family. But we also feel that spending time with friends, instead of working, is indulgent.
My message is that it is not necessarily indulgent because having good, strong friendships is as important for yourself as diet and exercise, and so it’s something you need to prioritize. If you are forever canceling on your friends or failing to make a point of seeing them or talking to them or interacting with them, then you are not being a good friend and you are not maintaining a strong relationship. You need your friends to be there down the road. But you have to do the work along the way, or they won’t be there. Friendship does take some time, but that’s kind of good news because (mostly) hanging out with your friends is fun.
The second half of the story, though, is that it’s quite normal for there to be change in our friendships over the course of a lifetime, and that’s OK. Friendship does need to be a relationship that’s longstanding, but you can cycle through several longstanding friendships in the course of your life. So, it isn’t that you can only stay friends with the people you knew when you were young, of course, because plenty of people do make friends in adulthood and those can become closer friends.
If a relationship is not healthy or even if it’s just not serving you well—if it’s not positive, if it’s really draining, or if it’s lopsided and one of you is always helping the other but not vice versa—that’s not so great. I think people need to realize that it is OK to walk away from friendships that aren’t good ones. KN: That seems like the flipside of all the amazing benefits that we get when we have strong friendships: There’s a lot of potential for pain when we have difficult, conflict-ridden relationships.
LD: Just like a strong relationship is good for you, a negative relationship is bad for you. Even an ambivalent relationship is bad for you, it turns out, biologically.
An ambivalent relationship is a relationship where you have positive feelings and negative feelings about the person or about your interactions with them. And that’s true of a lot of our relationships—almost half.
Researchers had a scale of one to five: How positive does this relationship make you feel, and how negative does this relationship make you feel? Anybody who was two or above on both things counted as ambivalent, which is really broad. You could be five on the good and two on the bad. What was interesting was that any relationship that was categorized as ambivalent seemed to generate cardiovascular issues and other kinds of health problems.
It’s not as surprising that a toxic relationship would be bad for your health. But I think that the problem with ambivalent relationships, which a lot of us have many of, is more surprising. I think most people suspect that the good outweighs the bad, and so far (it’s early days in that research) it doesn’t look that way.
I think that all this is a reminder of the importance of working on relationships—all of them, but including your friendships. There’s real value in a positive friendship.
If it isn’t positive, then you can do a couple of things. One is you can try to make it better, work on it, have a hard conversation, perhaps. Two is you quit and you say, “I’m not going to have this person in my life,” but that can be very dramatic. And three would be that you shuffle that friend to the outer circles of your social life. Maybe it’s not someone you can easily stop seeing, but if you don’t rely on them emotionally anymore, then that’s better for you.
KN: Are there some practices you would suggest or steps that you take in your own life to put more time and energy into friendship?
LD: It really does just begin as simply as paying attention and prioritizing. I try regularly to plan to get together with my close friends and the people I care about seeing a lot. We all have relatively busy lives, but I, first of all, make an effort to make the plan, and then I make an effort to get there—to show up. I think showing up is a really critical piece of friendship, in every sense of the phrase.
It could just be that you don’t have time to get together with someone for dinner for weeks, so you have a phone call and you catch up that way. Taking time to catch up on somebody’s life and hear what’s going on with them is an important indicator of it’s worth my time to know what’s going on in your life .
In addition, I think it’s useful to remember that science has clarified the definition of a quality relationship. It has to have these minimum three things: It’s a stable, longstanding bond; it’s positive; and it’s cooperative—it’s helpful, reciprocal, I’m there for you, you’re there for me .
When you’re interacting with your friends, you should be thinking about your side of it. Am I contributing to that? Have I been helpful lately? When was the last time I said something nice or told somebody why I appreciated them or did something nice for someone? Am I a reliable presence in that person’s life? You can think about the way you interact with your friends as needing to fall into those buckets, at a minimum.
The same thing goes for the online, as well: being positive, being helpful, showing up from a distance, whether that’s just checking in by text or sending a funny joke or forwarding an article or calling—making time. People have been stressed and anxious lately, so we need to be there and provide an ear to listen, a shoulder to cry on, even virtually.
KN: Right now, people in many places haven’t seen their friends for months. What do we miss out on when we can’t be around our friends in person?
LD: There’s a richness to being with your friends in person, and it hits all your senses. So, we’re not getting any of the tactile sense of being with our friends, and there’s a difference when you see them on a screen vs. when you see them in person, although we don’t entirely know in neuroscientific terms what those differences are yet.
One of the things our brains do automatically when we’re having a conversation with someone in person is this natural sense of “call and response,” that I’m talking, and then you respond, and then you talk and I respond. We are reading each other’s cues in a way that makes it easier to do that.
When you’re online, sometimes not only is there a little bit of an artificialness to the interaction but there’s literally a lag that’s built in from the technology, and that is quite off-putting for our brains. Our brains recognize that as a different kind of interaction, and they don’t like it very much. I think that’s one reason why some people are being driven crazy by Zoom. And if you have a group on Zoom, it’s very hard figuring out who’s going to speak next. There’s a way that we handle that with nonverbal cues in person that is harder to pull off virtually.
When you’re in person, you can have a much more natural conversation. There’s an ease and a warmth and a naturalness that we get when we’re with our friends, and I think we really are missing the ability to hug them and high five—that’s big stuff that matters a lot. So, it’s a loss.
That said, people are reporting a lot of positive experiences, even remotely. We’re being forced to interact virtually, but we’re getting a lot of benefits out of it. It’s not the same, but it’s a whole lot better than nothing. Limited though it is, technology has been a lifesaver in this moment. I can’t imagine what this would have been like if we didn’t have it.
KN: What do you most hope people will take away from the book?
LD: That they will make friendship a priority, that they will call a friend and work harder on thinking about the importance of being a good friend, that parents will think about talking to kids about the importance of friendship and modeling being a good friend and prioritizing it. Parents are full of messages about achievement, and not as many messages about what it means to be a good friend, but I think it’s one of the most important skills that a child can develop. Through all our lives, the importance of friendship has been hiding in plain sight.
About the Author
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Kira M. Newman
Kira M. Newman is the managing editor of Greater Good . Her work has been published in outlets including the Washington Post , Mindful magazine, Social Media Monthly , and Tech.co, and she is the co-editor of The Gratitude Project . Follow her on Twitter!
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6 Benefits of Friendship and Why It's So Important to Stay Close
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Friends Help You Cultivate Community
Frequently asked questions.
In an age where many of us feel lonelier and more disconnected than ever—despite being chronically online—it's never been more important to invest extra energy into our friendships. Platonic relationships are sometimes overlooked in our quest for romantic ones but friendship is just as important to our psychological wellbeing.
Friendships can enrich your life in countless ways. Good friends teach you about yourself and challenge you to be better. They encourage you to keep going when times get tough and celebrate your successes with you. They help you build community
But friends do a lot more than give you a shoulder to cry on; they also have a positive impact on your health. Some research even says friendships are as important to your well-being as eating right and exercising. Here's why:
Friends Are Good for Your Physical Health
It turns out that healthy relationships actually contribute to good physical health. Having a close circle of friends can decrease your risk of health problems like diabetes, heart attack, and stroke.
Having strong social ties can also decrease feelings of loneliness, which evidence shows can take a toll on your longevity. According to a 2010 review, people with strong relationships have half the risk of premature death from all causes.
Social isolation and loneliness are linked to a variety of health issues such as high blood pressure, substance abuse, heart disease, and even cancer.
Friends Encourage Healthy Behaviors
One possible explanation for those health benefits is that friendships can help you make lifestyle changes that can have a direct impact on your well-being. For example, your friends can help you set and maintain goals to eat better and exercise more. They can also watch out for you and give a heads-up when any unhealthy behaviors (like drinking too much ) get out of hand.
Additionally, people are more motivated and likely to stick to a weight loss or exercise program when they do it with a buddy. It's much easier to get out and stay active when you have a friend by your side.
That friend may also suggest activities that you would not have considered on your own—thus, pushing you outside your comfort zone to challenge your anxiety.
Friends Provide Emotional Support
If you find yourself going through a hard time, having a friend to help you through can make the transition easier.
Research also shows that happiness is contagious among friends. One study of high school students found that those who were depressed were twice as likely to recover if they had happy friends. Likewise, kids were half as likely to develop depression if their friends had a "healthy mood."
Friends Help Build Your Confidence
Everyone has self-doubts and insecurities every now and then. But having friends who support you plays a big role in building your self-esteem . When people around you provide validation, it impacts your ability to love and appreciate yourself.
Supportive friends can help you feel more confident by offering praise and reassurance when you're feeling unsure. They'll shine a light on just how amazing you are and how much you have to offer others.
Friends Help You Beat Stress
Everyone goes through stressful events. If you know you have people you can count on, you may be less likely to even perceive a tough time as stressful.
Spending time with friends can also help reduce stress . According to Harvard Medical School, "social connections help relieve levels of stress, which can harm the heart's arteries, gut function, insulin regulation, and the immune system."
Friends can also help you cope with stressful situations. According to one small study, when children hang out with their friends during a stressful situation, they produce less cortisol, a hormone released when the body is under stress.
As the song goes: “We all need somebody to lean on.”
A lack of friends can leave you feeling lonely and without support, which makes you vulnerable to other problems such as depression and substance abuse.
While we might all be pretty good at building online communities, our in person ones are seriously lacking. When we invest the energy in our friendships, and then encourage our friends to be friends with each other it fosters a sense of community.
A healthy community can help us feel more at home in our towns and cities When we're out and about and we see people we know—at the grocery store, at a local cafe, etc—it lets us know that we are part of something bigger and that we belong.
Friends Push You To Be Your Best
Ever heard some version of the phrase, "you are the average of the people you spend your time with"? The people we're friends with have the power to influence our own values and character. When you prioritize friendships with people who are generous with their time, help others, or are ambitious or family-oriented, you are more likely to develop those values yourself.
Great friends have the power to mold you into the best version of yourself. They see you and love you for who you truly are. They encourage you and push you to do better and be the person you want to be—your "ideal self."
There are many different components of friendship. If someone is loyal to you, honest with you, shares many of your interests, and is there for you when you need them, you would likely consider them a friend.
Many of the benefits of friends could be considered evolutionary—having a group of friends can create feelings of safety and social inclusion. Caring for others, and having others that care for you in turn, can help foster a collective purpose and feelings of self-worth.
Yang YC, Boen C, Gerken K, Li T, Schorpp K, Harris KM. Social relationships and physiological determinants of longevity across the human life span . Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A . 2016;113(3):578-583. doi:10.1073/pnas.1511085112
Holt-Lunstad J, Smith TB, Layton JB. Social relationships and mortality risk: A meta-analytic review . PLoS Med . 2010;7(7):e1000316. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000316
Holt-Lunstad J, Smith TB, Baker M, Harris T, Stephenson D. Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for mortality: A meta-analytic review . Perspect Psychol Sci . 2015;10(2):227-237. doi:10.1177/1745691614568352
Craddock E, vanDellen MR, Novak SA, Ranby KW. Influence in relationships: A meta-analysis on health-related social control . Basic Appl Soc Psych . 2015;37(2):118-130. doi:10.1080/01973533.2015.1011271
Hill EM, Griffiths FE, House T. Spreading of healthy mood in adolescent social networks . Proc Biol Sci . 2015;282(1813):20151180. doi:10.1098/rspb.2015.1180
Harvard Medical School. The health benefits of strong relationships .
Adams RE, Santo JB, Bukowski WM. The presence of a best friend buffers the effects of negative experiences . Dev Psychol . 2011;47(6):1786-1791. doi:10.1037/a0025401
Shadur J, Hussong A. Friendship intimacy, close friend drug use, and self-medication in adolescence . J Soc Pers Relat . 2014;31(8):997-1018. doi:10.1177/0265407513516889
Houle J, Meunier S, Coulombe S, et al. Peer positive social control and men's health-promoting behaviors . Am J Mens Health . 2017;11(5):1569-1579. doi:10.1177/1557988317711605
By Arlin Cuncic, MA Arlin Cuncic, MA, is the author of The Anxiety Workbook and founder of the website About Social Anxiety. She has a Master's degree in clinical psychology.
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Essay on Importance of Friendship
Students are often asked to write an essay on Importance of Friendship in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.
Let’s take a look…
100 Words Essay on Importance of Friendship
The essence of friendship.
Friendship is a valuable treasure in our lives. It is a bond of love, trust, and mutual respect. Friends stand by us in times of joy and sorrow, making life more meaningful.
Role of Friendship
Friends teach us important life lessons. They help us understand different perspectives, fostering empathy and compassion. They also offer emotional support and help us build our confidence.
Friendship and Personal Growth
Friendship encourages personal growth. It nurtures our emotional intelligence, helps us learn to communicate effectively, and develops our problem-solving skills. True friendship is a gift that enriches our life journey.
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250 Words Essay on Importance of Friendship
Friendship, a profound human experience, is a cornerstone of our social fabric. It transcends the boundaries of race, religion, and culture, fostering an environment of mutual respect, understanding, and shared values.
Psychological Impact of Friendship
Friendship plays a critical role in our psychological well-being. It provides emotional support, helping to mitigate stress and anxiety. Friends serve as a sounding board, allowing us to express our thoughts and emotions freely, which can be therapeutic and contribute to our overall mental health.
Friendship as a Learning Platform
Friendship is also a platform for personal growth and learning. Friends expose us to diverse perspectives, encouraging us to think critically and broaden our horizons. They challenge our beliefs, prompting us to question and refine our viewpoints, fostering our intellectual growth.
The Role of Friendship in Shaping Character
Moreover, friendship shapes our character. The qualities we admire in our friends often inspire us to cultivate those traits within ourselves. They mirror our strengths and weaknesses, helping us to self-reflect and strive for personal improvement.
Friendship and Social Cohesion
On a societal level, friendships foster social cohesion. They promote empathy and tolerance, as we learn to accept our friends’ differences and appreciate our commonalities. This understanding and acceptance can extend beyond our immediate circle, promoting a more inclusive society.
In conclusion, the importance of friendship cannot be overstated. It supports our mental health, encourages personal growth, shapes our character, and promotes social cohesion. Despite its often underestimated value, friendship is an integral part of our lives, enriching our experiences and contributing to our personal and societal well-being.
500 Words Essay on Importance of Friendship
The value of friendship, emotional support and mental health.
One of the primary importances of friendship lies in its capacity to provide emotional support. Friends are our confidants, providing us a safe space to express our feelings, fears, hopes, and dreams without the fear of judgment. They provide comfort during times of stress, acting as a buffer against mental health issues like depression and anxiety. Their presence and understanding can help us navigate through the complexities of life, promoting emotional well-being.
Social Development and Personal Growth
Friendship plays a crucial role in our social development and personal growth. Friends expose us to diverse perspectives, cultures, and experiences, broadening our worldview. They challenge our beliefs, encourage us to step out of our comfort zones, and inspire us to become better versions of ourselves. This process of mutual learning and growth is a significant aspect of friendship.
Resilience in the Face of Adversity
Physical health and longevity.
The importance of friendship extends to our physical health and longevity. Studies suggest that strong social connections can contribute to a longer, healthier life. Friends can encourage positive lifestyle habits such as regular exercise and a balanced diet. Moreover, the happiness derived from friendship can boost our immune system, reducing the risk of chronic diseases.
Friendship and Society
On a larger scale, friendship contributes to societal harmony. It fosters empathy, understanding, and respect among individuals, creating a more inclusive and tolerant society. Friends from diverse backgrounds can help break down cultural and social barriers, promoting unity and cooperation.
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The Power of Friendship: Understanding the Importance of Strong Bonds
Friendship is a fundamental aspect of human life that enriches our everyday experiences. Having close friends can help us prevent loneliness or isolation and provide us with supportive companions as we work toward living purposeful lives. However, finding friends can sometimes be challenging, especially as we grow older and our lives become busier.
Studies have shown that having friendships can have numerous health benefits. For example, having close friends during adolescent and teenage years can promote reduced stress and anxiety levels. Friendships can also help us make lifestyle changes that can directly impact our well-being, such as setting and maintaining goals to eat better and exercise more.
In this article, we will explore the importance of friendship and how it can enrich our lives and improve our health. We will discuss how to meet new friends, cultivate close relationships, and cope with challenges and stress. Join us as we dive into the many benefits of friendship and learn how to strengthen our social connections.
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The Essence of Friendship
As social beings, we all crave meaningful relationships with others. One of the most important relationships we can have is friendship. It is a bond that goes beyond having someone to hang out with or talk to. Friendship provides emotional support, helps us grow as individuals, and adds joy to our lives.
At the heart of friendship is trust. We trust our friends to be there for us when we need them, to keep our secrets, and to support us through thick and thin. This trust is built over time through shared experiences, vulnerability, and mutual respect.
Friendship also allows us to be ourselves. We can share our thoughts, feelings, and opinions without fear of judgment. This authenticity helps us grow and learn from each other, making us better individuals.
In addition to emotional support, friends can also have a positive impact on our physical health. Studies have shown that having a strong social support system can reduce stress, lower blood pressure, and even boost our immune system.
But, like any relationship, friendship requires effort. We must be willing to invest time and energy into our friendships, to be there for our friends when they need us, and to communicate openly and honestly.
The Role of Friendship in Personal Development
Friendship plays a crucial role in personal development. It helps us grow emotionally, boosts our self-esteem, and supports us. In this section, we will discuss how friendship contributes to personal development.
Boosting Self-Esteem
Having friends who support and encourage us can significantly impact our self-esteem . When we have people who believe in us, it can help us believe in ourselves. Friends can help us see our strengths and remind us of our value when feeling down.
Moreover, when we have friends who accept us for who we are, we can develop a sense of self-acceptance. We don’t have to pretend to be someone we’re not to fit in. This can help us feel more confident and comfortable in our skin.
Emotional Growth
Friendship can also contribute to our emotional growth. When we have close friends, we have people we can confide in and share our feelings with. This can help us develop emotional intelligence and empathy, as we learn to understand and relate to others.
Furthermore, when friends challenge us and push us outside our comfort zones, we can grow and develop in new ways. They can help us see things from different perspectives and encourage us to take risks and try new things.
Friendship is an essential component of personal development. It can help us boost our self-esteem, develop emotional intelligence, and provide us with a support system. Having friends who believe in us and accept us for who we are can significantly impact our growth and well-being.
Friendship and Mental Health
Friendship is not only crucial for our social life, but it also has a significant impact on our mental health. Having close friends can provide us with emotional support, reduce stress levels, and combat loneliness. This section will explore how friendship can positively affect our mental health.
Stress Relief
Stress is a common issue that most of us face in our daily lives. However, having close friends can help us manage and reduce stress levels. According to a study, having friends can significantly reduce stress and anxiety. When we have someone to talk to and share our problems with, we feel less burdened, and it helps us cope with stress more effectively.
Moreover, having a support system of friends can help us deal with stressful situations. They can provide us with a different perspective, offer advice, and help us find solutions to our problems. These factors can help us manage our stress levels and improve our mental health.
Combating Loneliness
Loneliness is a significant issue that can negatively impact our mental health. However, having close friends can help combat loneliness and improve our well-being . Friends provide us with a sense of belonging and purpose, which can boost our happiness and reduce our stress levels.
Moreover, having friends can help us build our self-confidence and self-worth. When we have people who value us and appreciate us for who we are, it can help us feel more confident and positive about ourselves. This, in turn, can positively impact our mental health.
Having close friends can significantly impact our mental health. Friends can provide us with emotional support, reduce stress levels, combat loneliness, and improve our overall well-being. Therefore, it is essential to prioritize our friendships and nurture them regularly to reap the mental health benefits they provide.
Friendship and Physical Health
We all know that having friends is essential for our emotional well-being, but did you know that it can also positively impact our physical health? Research has shown that strong social connections can lead to various health benefits, from reducing stress levels to improving our immune system.
One study found that individuals with a more extensive social network were less likely to develop illnesses like heart disease, stroke, and even the common cold. This is because social support can help reduce stress levels, which can lead to lower blood pressure and a healthier heart.
In addition, having friends can also encourage us to engage in healthy behaviors. For example, we may be more likely to exercise regularly if we have a friend who enjoys working out with us. We may also be more likely to eat a healthy diet if our friends share our interest in healthy eating.
On the other hand, social isolation and loneliness can adversely affect our physical health. Studies have shown that socially isolated individuals are more likely to have a weakened immune system, higher levels of inflammation, and an increased risk of developing chronic illnesses.
So, what can we do to reap the physical health benefits of friendship? Here are a few tips:
- Make time for social activities: Whether it’s joining a club or group, volunteering, or simply making plans with friends, it’s essential to prioritize social activities in our lives.
- Cultivate new friendships: It’s always possible to make new friends! Consider joining a new group or class to meet new people.
- Nurture existing friendships: Remember to try to maintain the friendships you already have. Make regular catch-ups or phone calls, and show your friends you care about them.
The benefits of having friends extend far beyond our emotional well-being. By prioritizing social connections, we can improve our physical health and well-being.
The Impact of Friendship on Society
Friendship is not only important for individuals but also for society as a whole. Our social connections are crucial in shaping our communities and promoting a sense of belonging. This section will explore how friendship impacts society and discuss two sub-sections: Promoting Unity and Spreading Empathy.
Promoting Unity
Friendship can promote unity by bringing people from different backgrounds and cultures together. When we form friendships with people who are different from us, we develop a better understanding of their perspectives and experiences. This can help break down barriers and reduce prejudice and discrimination.
For example, a study by the University of California found that college students with diverse friend groups were more likely to engage in activities promoting diversity and social justice. Friendships help create a more inclusive and equitable society by fostering unity.
Spreading Empathy
Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. We develop a greater sense of empathy towards others when we form close friendships. This is because we are more likely to listen to and support our friends during difficult times.
By spreading empathy, friendships can help create a more compassionate society. For example, a study by the University of Michigan found that people who reported having close friendships were more likely to engage in prosocial behavior, such as volunteering and helping others.
Challenges in Maintaining Friendships
Maintaining friendships can be challenging at times. We may face conflicts, distance and time constraints, and other obstacles that can test the strength of our relationships. In this section, we will discuss some of the common challenges of maintaining friendships and offer some tips on overcoming them.
Conflict Resolution
Conflict is an inevitable part of any relationship, including friendships. It can arise from differences in opinions, values, or behavior. When conflicts arise, it is essential to address them constructively and respectfully. Here are some tips on how to resolve conflicts in friendships:
- Listen actively: Listen to your friend’s perspective and try to understand their point of view.
- Communicate clearly: Express your thoughts and feelings clearly and concisely.
- Find common ground: Look for areas of agreement and focus on finding a solution that works for both parties.
- Apologize when necessary: If you have made a mistake, apologize and take responsibility for your actions.
- Seek outside help: If you cannot resolve the conflict on your own, consider seeking the help of a mediator or therapist.
Distance and Time
Distance and time constraints can also pose challenges in maintaining friendships. As we age, we may move away from our friends or become busy with work and family obligations. Here are some tips on how to stay connected with friends despite distance and time constraints:
- Schedule regular check-ins: Set aside time to catch up with your friend regularly, whether it’s through phone calls, video chats, or text messages.
- Plan visits: Make plans to visit your friend in person, whether for a weekend getaway or a quick coffee date.
- Find common interests: Look for activities or hobbies you and your friend can do together, even if you are in a different location.
- Be understanding: Recognize that your friend may have other obligations, and be patient if they cannot connect as often as you would like.
Maintaining friendships requires effort and commitment. By addressing conflicts constructively and finding ways to stay connected despite distance and time constraints, we can strengthen our relationships and enjoy the many benefits of having close friends.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the benefits of having good friends.
Having good friends can provide us with emotional support, reduce stress, and increase our sense of belonging. Friends can also challenge us to be better and help us celebrate our successes. They can provide us with a different perspective on life and help us grow as individuals.
How does having friends affect our mental health?
Having friends can have a positive impact on our mental health. It can reduce feelings of loneliness and depression, increase self-esteem, and provide us with a sense of purpose. Studies have shown that people with strong social support systems are less likely to experience mental health issues.
What are some ways to maintain friendships?
Maintaining friendships requires effort and communication. Some ways to maintain friendships include regularly checking in with friends, setting aside time to spend together, and being honest and open with each other. It’s also important to be supportive and understanding, and to respect each other’s boundaries.
What are the qualities of a good friend?
A good friend is someone who is trustworthy, supportive, and understanding. They listen without judgment and offer advice when needed. They are also respectful of boundaries and are willing to compromise. A good friend is someone who is dependable and can be counted on in both good times and bad.
How do friendships contribute to personal growth?
Friendships can help us grow as individuals by providing us with different perspectives and experiences. Friends can challenge us to step outside of our comfort zones and try new things. They can also provide us with emotional support when we are going through difficult times.
Why is it important to choose friends wisely?
Choosing friends wisely is important because the people we surround ourselves with can have a significant impact on our lives. Friends can influence our behavior, attitudes, and beliefs. It’s important to choose friends who share our values and goals, and who will support us in achieving them.
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Essay: The Importance of Friendship In 100 Words
Friendship is a vital part of our lives, providing emotional support, companionship, and a sense of belonging. This essay explores the characteristics of true friendship, the benefits of having close friends, and how to cultivate and maintain strong friendships.
Table of Contents
Essay About Friendship – A Lifelong Bond of Support and Connection
Introduction
Friendship is one of the most important relationships we can have in our lives. It is a bond of mutual affection, trust, and support that can bring us immense joy and comfort. In this essay, we will explore the characteristics of true friendship , the benefits of having close friends, and how to cultivate and maintain strong friendships.
Characteristics of True Friendship
True friendship is characterized by several key qualities, including:
Trust – Friends are trustworthy and reliable, with a deep understanding of each other’s values and beliefs.
Support – Friends offer emotional support and encouragement, providing a safe space to share thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
Loyalty – Friends are loyal and committed to each other, standing by each other through thick and thin.
Shared interests – Friends share common interests, hobbies, and values, providing a sense of connection and belonging.
Benefits of Having Close Friends
Having close friends can bring numerous benefits to our lives, including:
Emotional support – Friends can provide a listening ear and a shoulder to lean on during difficult times.
Improved mental health – Strong friendships have been linked to improved mental health , including reduced stress and anxiety.
Increased happiness – Having close friends can bring a sense of happiness and fulfillment to our lives.
Sense of belonging – Friends provide a sense of belonging and community, helping us to feel connected and valued.
Cultivating and Maintaining Strong Friendships
Cultivating and maintaining strong friendships requires effort and commitment. Some key strategies for building and sustaining strong friendships include:
Communicate openly and honestly – Good communication is key to building and maintaining strong friendships.
Be supportive and empathetic – Offering emotional support and empathy is crucial to building strong and lasting friendships.
Show appreciation – Showing gratitude and appreciation for our friends can help to strengthen our bonds.
Make time for each other – Making time for our friends, even in the midst of busy schedules, is essential for building and maintaining strong friendships.
Friendship is a vital part of our lives, providing emotional support, companionship, and a sense of belonging. Understanding the characteristics of true friendship, the benefits of having close friends, and how to cultivate and maintain strong friendships can help us to build and maintain meaningful relationships that bring joy and fulfillment to our lives. As we continue to prioritize and invest in our friendships, we can cultivate a sense of connection and community that enriches our lives and brings us closer to those we care about.
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Friendships: Enrich your life and improve your health
Discover the connection between health and friendship, and how to promote and maintain healthy friendships.
Friendships can have a major impact on your health and well-being, but it's not always easy to develop or maintain friendships. Understand the importance of social connection in your life and what you can do to develop and nurture lasting friendships.
What are the benefits of friendships?
Good friends are good for your health. Friends can help you celebrate good times and provide support during bad times. Friends prevent isolation and loneliness and give you a chance to offer needed companionship, too. Friends can also:
- Increase your sense of belonging and purpose
- Boost your happiness and reduce your stress
- Improve your self-confidence and self-worth
- Help you cope with traumas, such as divorce, serious illness, job loss or the death of a loved one
- Encourage you to change or avoid unhealthy lifestyle habits, such as excessive drinking or lack of exercise
Friends also play a significant role in promoting your overall health. Adults with strong social connections have a reduced risk of many significant health problems, including depression, high blood pressure and an unhealthy body mass index (BMI). In fact, studies have found that older adults who have meaningful relationships and social support are likely to live longer than their peers with fewer connections.
Why is it sometimes hard to make friends or maintain friendships?
Many adults find it hard to develop new friendships or keep up existing friendships. Friendships may take a back seat to other priorities, such as work or caring for children or aging parents. You and your friends may have grown apart due to changes in your lives or interests. Or maybe you've moved to a new community and haven't yet found a way to meet people.
Developing and maintaining good friendships takes effort. The enjoyment and comfort friendship can provide, however, makes the investment worthwhile.
What's a healthy number of friends?
Quality counts more than quantity. While it may be good to cultivate a diverse network of friends and acquaintances, you may feel a greater sense of belonging and well-being by nurturing close, meaningful relationships that will support you through thick and thin.
What are some ways to meet new friends?
It's possible to develop friendships with people who are already in your social network. Think through people you've interacted with — even very casually — who made a positive impression.
You may make new friends and nurture existing relationships by:
- Staying in touch with people with whom you've worked or taken classes
- Reconnecting with old friends
- Reaching out to people you've enjoyed chatting with at social gatherings
- Introducing yourself to neighbors
- Making time to connect with family members
If anyone stands out in your memory as someone you'd like to know better, reach out. Ask mutual friends or acquaintances to share the person's contact information, or — even better — to reintroduce the two of you with a text, email or in-person visit. Extend an invitation to coffee or lunch.
To meet new people who might become your friends, you have to go to places where others are gathered. Don't limit yourself to one strategy for meeting people. The broader your efforts, the greater your likelihood of success.
Persistence also matters. Take the initiative rather than waiting for invitations to come your way and keep trying. You may need to suggest plans a few times before you can tell if your interest in a new friend is mutual.
For example, try several of these ideas:
- Attend community events. Look for groups or clubs that gather around an interest or hobby you share. You may find these groups online, or they may be listed in the newspaper or on community bulletin boards. There are also many websites that help you connect with new friends in your neighborhood or city. Do a Google search using terms such as [your city] + social network, or [your neighborhood] + meet ups.
- Volunteer. Offer your time or talents at a hospital, place of worship, museum, community center, charitable group or other organization. You can form strong connections when you work with people who have mutual interests.
- Extend and accept invitations. Invite a friend to join you for coffee or lunch. When you're invited to a social gathering, say yes. Contact someone who recently invited you to an activity and return the favor.
- Take up a new interest. Take a college or community education course to meet people who have similar interests. Join a class at a local gym, senior center or community fitness facility.
- Join a faith community. Take advantage of special activities and get-to-know-you events for new members.
- Take a walk. Grab your kids or pet and head outside. Chat with neighbors who are also out and about or head to a popular park and strike up conversations there.
Above all, stay positive. You may not become friends with everyone you meet but maintaining a friendly attitude and demeanor can help you improve the relationships in your life. It may also sow the seeds of friendship with new acquaintances.
How does social media affect friendships?
Joining a chat group or online community might help you make or maintain connections and relieve loneliness. However, research suggests that use of social networking sites doesn't necessarily translate to a larger offline network or closer offline relationships with network members. In addition, remember to exercise caution when sharing personal information or arranging an activity with someone you've only met online.
How can I nurture my friendships?
Developing and maintaining healthy friendships involves give-and-take. Sometimes you're the one giving support, and other times you're on the receiving end. Letting friends know you care about them and appreciate them can help strengthen your bond. It's as important for you to be a good friend as it is to surround yourself with good friends.
To nurture your friendships:
- Be kind. This most-basic behavior remains the core of successful relationships. Think of friendship as an emotional bank account. Every act of kindness and every expression of gratitude are deposits into this account, while criticism and negativity draw down the account.
- Be a good listener. Ask what's going on in your friends' lives. Let the other person know you are paying close attention through eye contact, body language and occasional brief comments such as, "That sounds fun." When friends share details of hard times or difficult experiences, be empathetic, but don't give advice unless your friends ask for it.
- Open up. Build intimacy with your friends by opening up about yourself. Being willing to disclose personal experiences and concerns shows that your friend holds a special place in your life, and it may deepen your connection.
- Show that you can be trusted. Being responsible, reliable and dependable is key to forming strong friendships. Keep your engagements and arrive on time. Follow through on commitments you've made to your friends. When your friends share confidential information, keep it private.
- Make yourself available. Building a close friendship takes time — together. Make an effort to see new friends regularly, and to check in with them in between meet ups. You may feel awkward the first few times you talk on the phone or get together, but this feeling is likely to pass as you get more comfortable with each other.
Manage your nerves with mindfulness. You may find yourself imagining the worst of social situations, and you may feel tempted to stay home. Use mindfulness exercises to reshape your thinking. Each time you imagine the worst, pay attention to how often the embarrassing situations you're afraid of actually take place. You may notice that the scenarios you fear usually don't happen.
When embarrassing situations do happen, remind yourself that your feelings will pass, and you can handle them until they do.
Yoga and other mind-body relaxation practices also may reduce anxiety and help you face situations that make you feel nervous.
Remember, it's never too late to develop new friendships or reconnect with old friends. Investing time in making friends and strengthening your friendships can pay off in better health and a brighter outlook for years to come.
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- Holt-Lunstad J. Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors: The power of social connection in prevention. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine. 2021; doi: 10.1177/15598276211009454.
- Loneliness and social isolation — tips for staying connected. National Institute on Aging. https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/loneliness-and-social-isolation-tips-staying-connected. Accessed Dec. 16, 2021.
- Bystritsky A. Complementary and alternative treatments for anxiety symptoms and disorders: Physical, cognitive, and spiritual interventions. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/search. Accessed Dec. 16, 2021.
- Oshio T, et al. Association between the use of social networking sites, perceived social support, and life satisfaction: Evidence from a population-based survey in Japan. PLoS One. 2020; doi: 10/1371/journal.pone.0244199.
- Wilkinson A, et al. Maintenance and development of social connection by people with long-term conditions: A qualitative study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2019; doi:10.3390/ijerph16111875.
- Suragarn U, et al. Approaches to enhance social connection in older adults: An integrative review of literature. Aging and Health Research. 2021; doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahr.2021.100029.
- Holt-Lunstad J. The major health implications of social connection. Current Directions in Psychological Science. 2021; doi: 10.1177/0963721421999630.
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Essay on Friendship for Students and Children
500+ words essay on friendship.
Friendship is one of the greatest bonds anyone can ever wish for. Lucky are those who have friends they can trust. Friendship is a devoted relationship between two individuals. They both feel immense care and love for each other. Usually, a friendship is shared by two people who have similar interests and feelings.
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You meet many along the way of life but only some stay with you forever. Those are your real friends who stay by your side through thick and thin. Friendship is the most beautiful gift you can present to anyone. It is one which stays with a person forever.
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True Friendship
A person is acquainted with many persons in their life. However, the closest ones become our friends. You may have a large friend circle in school or college , but you know you can only count on one or two people with whom you share true friendship.
There are essentially two types of friends, one is good friends the other are true friends or best friends. They’re the ones with whom we have a special bond of love and affection. In other words, having a true friend makes our lives easier and full of happiness.
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Most importantly, true friendship stands for a relationship free of any judgments. In a true friendship, a person can be themselves completely without the fear of being judged. It makes you feel loved and accepted. This kind of freedom is what every human strives to have in their lives.
In short, true friendship is what gives us reason to stay strong in life. Having a loving family and all is okay but you also need true friendship to be completely happy. Some people don’t even have families but they have friends who’re like their family only. Thus, we see having true friends means a lot to everyone.
Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas
Importance of Friendship
Friendship is important in life because it teaches us a great deal about life. We learn so many lessons from friendship which we won’t find anywhere else. You learn to love someone other than your family. You know how to be yourself in front of friends.
Friendship never leaves us in bad times. You learn how to understand people and trust others. Your real friends will always motivate you and cheer for you. They will take you on the right path and save you from any evil.
Similarly, friendship also teaches you a lot about loyalty. It helps us to become loyal and get loyalty in return. There is no greater feeling in the world than having a friend who is loyal to you.
Moreover, friendship makes us stronger. It tests us and helps us grow. For instance, we see how we fight with our friends yet come back together after setting aside our differences. This is what makes us strong and teaches us patience.
Therefore, there is no doubt that best friends help us in our difficulties and bad times of life. They always try to save us in our dangers as well as offer timely advice. True friends are like the best assets of our life because they share our sorrow, sooth our pain and make us feel happy.
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Home — Essay Samples — Sociology — Friendship — Making Friends And The Importance Of Friendship
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Making Friends and The Importance of Friendship
- Categories: Friendship
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Words: 1035 |
Published: Feb 8, 2022
Words: 1035 | Pages: 2 | 6 min read
Table of contents
Friendship essay outline, friendship essay example, introduction.
- The importance of making friends in life
Types of Friends
- The value of having diverse types of friends
- The positive impacts of different types of friends on one's life
Polar Opposite Friend
- The benefits of having a friend who is a polar opposite
- Encouragement to try new things and gain new perspectives
- Creating a balance in the friendship
Builder Friend
- The role of a builder friend in providing support and guidance
- Trustworthiness and honesty in the relationship
- Pushing you to achieve your goals and dreams
Best Friend
- The unique bond and connection with a best friend
- Honesty, emotional support, and no-judgment zone
- Unconditional love and encouragement to be a better person
- The importance of surrounding oneself with supportive and caring friends
- The impact of friendships on personal growth and happiness
Works Cited:
- Baker, E. D. (1989). "Symbolism in Eudora Welty's 'A Worn Path.'" In E. D. Jones (Ed.), Masterplots II: Short Story Series (Vol. 7, pp. 3925-3927). Salem Press.
- Cowart, D. (1984). "Phoenix Has No Coat: Historicity, Eschatology, and Scapegoating in 'A Worn Path.'" Studies in Short Fiction, 21(1), 45-56.
- Duvall, J. D. (2004). "Overview of 'A Worn Path'." In Short Stories for Students (Vol. 19, pp. 1-15). Gale.
- Evans, R. C. (1973). "The Art of 'A Worn Path.'" The Southern Review, 9(1), 101-108.
- Friedmann, M. (1990). "The Inverted World of Eudora Welty's 'A Worn Path.'" College Language Association Journal, 33(3), 282-289.
- Gaudet, M. (1989). "Life and Death in Eudora Welty's 'A Worn Path.'" In E. D. Jones (Ed.), Masterplots II: Short Story Series (Vol. 7, pp. 3922-3925). Salem Press.
- Grimsley, R. (1984). "Eudora Welty's 'A Worn Path': The Eternal Quest of Welty's Phoenix Jackson." Mississippi Quarterly, 37(4), 539-550.
- Korb, R. (2017). "A Worn Path." In Masterpieces of American Short Fiction (pp. 222-228). Greenwood Press.
- Moreland, R. (2010). "Eudora Welty's 'A Worn Path' and the Slave Narrative Tradition." The Southern Literary Journal, 43(2), 15-26.
- Smith, E. A. (1984). "The Journey of Life: Symbolism in Eudora Welty's 'A Worn Path.'" The Mississippi Quarterly, 37(2), 231-239.
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Value of Friends Essay | The Importance of Having Friends
Value of Friends Essay – The value of friends essay is a great topic to write about. Friendship is so important in society today; everyone needs friends. That’s why people may be a little more careful when they choose their friends.
Friendship and happiness are closely connected. We all need friends to share our joys and sorrows. A true friend stands by us in difficult times. He inspires and motivates us and loves us selflessly. Write an article in 125-150 words on ‘The Value of Friends.” You are Prityusha/Prityush.
Value of Friends
by Prityusha
Friendship is something that people take time to appreciate. Friendship includes human values like sympathy, mutual understanding and companionship. Above all, it is about honesty, trust love with a degree of intimacy. Friendship is undoubtedly a central part of our lives, due to concerns we have for our friends and also because our friends can shape as a person. Friends are one of the most important beings we need in our lives. They are a source of not only personal happiness but also a shoulder to lean on when in need. True friends are a kind of gift we receive as we move through life. They listen, care, call or visit us when no one is around and they accept us for who we are. A friend can be an emotional oasis and can make a huge difference in our lives. Friendship transcends all material gains and selfish motives and values. The value of a true friend is immeasurable. It is a matter of heart more than of the mind and must be left to the heart for the decision rather than subjecting it to the scanner of the mind which can sometimes play truant and spoil the friendship. True friendship is based on mutual trust. It must be maintained at all costs and under all circumstances, We can buy gold and diamonds if we have the required amount of money in our pocket, but a genuine friend cannot be bought even with loads of money because true friends are more precious.
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Friends are one of the most important things in life. They provide us with support, love, and companionship. They make us laugh, help us cry, and are always there for us when we need them. A true friend is someone who knows us inside out and still loves us anyway. They know our strengths and weaknesses and accept us for who we are. They don’t try to change us or control us, but instead they help us grow into the best version of ourselves. Friends are the family we choose for ourselves. They are the people we turn to when we need someone to talk to, and they are always there for us no matter what. They are an essential part of our lives, and we would be lost without them.
The Value of Friends Essay- 150 Words
There’s nothing quite like having a good friend by your side. Good friends are the people we can rely on when we need them the most. They’re the ones who make us laugh when we’re feeling down, and who help us pick ourselves up when we’re struggling. They’re there for us, no matter what. That’s why friends are so important. They provide us with the support and love that we need to get through life’s ups and downs. They remind us that we’re not alone, and that there’s always someone to lean on when things get tough. Friends are priceless treasures that should be cherished and nurtured. If you’re lucky enough to have a good friend in your life, don’t take them for granted. Let them know how much they mean to you, and show them how much you appreciate their friendship.
The Value of Friends Essay- 300 Words
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Friends are one of the most important things in our lives. They provide us with support, love, and laughter. The value of friends is something that can never be underestimated. Good friends are a priceless commodity and are worth their weight in gold. They make you laugh when you’re down, help you to get through tough times and are always there for you when you need them. A true friend is someone who knows you inside out and still loves you anyway. They accept you for who you are and don’t try to change you. They are the family that you choose and they will be there for you through thick and thin. Friends are the people who make our lives richer and more fun. They add color and excitement to otherwise mundane days. They help us through tough times and celebrate our successes. We rely on them for honest feedback and shoulder to cry on. In return, we try to be the best friend we can be. They give us someone to confide in, share secrets with and rely on when things get tough. In short, they make life better. Research suggests that friends play an important role in our lives. Studies have shown that friends can help improve our mental and physical health, increase our happiness, and even lengthen our lifespan. So, it seems that having good friends is not just a nice bonus – it’s actually essential for a happy and healthy life. Of course, the quality of our friendships also matters. Simply having a lot of friends does not necessarily mean that we are surrounded by people who truly care about us and have our best interests at heart. It’s important to cultivate close relationships with people who make us feel good about ourselves and whom we can trust to be there for us when we need them. So what is the value of friends? Friends provide us with love, support, laughter, and so much more. They enrich our lives in ways that we cannot even begin to imagine. And they may just be the key to a happy and healthy life. So if you have good friends in your life, cherish them and let them know how much they mean to you. Because they really are worth their weight in gold.
The Value of Friends Essay
Introduction
The value of friends is immeasurable. A single friend can be worth more than gold, and a true friend is worth even more. A friend is someone who understands you, someone you can rely on in good times and bad. A friend is someone who makes you laugh, cry, and think. A friend is someone who is there for you, no matter what. True friends are hard to come by, but they are worth everything. If you have even one true friend in your life, consider yourself lucky.
What are friends for?
Friends are important to have because they provide support, advice, and a shoulder to cry on when needed. They are there for you during the good times and the bad times. Friends are people you can rely on and who will be honest with you. They are someone you can vent to about your problems or share your successes with. A good friend is someone you can trust and confide in. They should also be someone who makes you laugh and enjoys spending time with you. A friend should make you feel comfortable being yourself around them. They should also be someone you can rely on to keep your secrets safe. A friend is someone who will help you when you need it, whether it’s picking you up when you’ve had a bad day or lending a listening ear when you need to talk. They should also be there for you to celebrate your triumphs with. A true friend will be by your side through thick and thin.
The Value of Friends
The value of friends is something that has been studied by researchers for many years. The reason why friends are so valuable is because they provide us with social support. Social support is the help and assistance that we receive from others. It can be in the form of emotional support, financial support, or even just practical assistance. Friends are important because they can offer us social support when we need it. This is especially true for difficult life transitions or times of stress. Research has shown that people who have strong social networks are more likely to cope with stress and adversity than those who do not have strong social networks. So, if you are going through a tough time, lean on your friends – they will be there to support you.
The Benefits of Having Friends
Friends are one of the most important aspects of our lives. They provide us with support, comfort, and companionship. They help us through tough times and celebrate our successes. Having friends is beneficial to our health. Studies have shown that people with strong social relationships are more likely to live longer and have better mental and physical health. Friends can help us stay active and mentally sharp as we age. They can also reduce stress, improve our moods, and boost our immune system. Friends can also help us when we’re going through tough times. They can provide emotional support and practical assistance. They can listen to us when we need to talk and be there for us when we need a shoulder to cry on. In addition to all of these benefits, friends also make life more fun! We can enjoy activities together, share interests and hobbies, and just spend time laughing and enjoying each other’s company. Life is just more enjoyable with good friends by our side.
The Different Types of Friends
It is important to have friends, as they bring different types of support, encouragement and advice to our lives. They also help us to feel connected and appreciated. According to a study by the University of Oxford, people with strong social relationships are 50% more likely to live longer than those who don’t have close friends. There are different types of friends that we might have. Some friends are just casual acquaintances, while others are closer confidants. We might also have friends from different parts of our lives, such as work friends, school friends or neighbours. It’s important to nurture all our friendships, as they all play an important role in our lives.
Casual Acquaintances: These are the people you might see regularly, but don’t really know well. You might chat with them occasionally, but there’s no real depth to the relationship. This isn’t a bad thing – it can be nice to have a few friendly faces in your life. Close Confidants: These are the friends you turn to when you need someone to talk to. They know you well and you can trust them with your secrets. You might not see them as often as you’d like, but when you do catch up it’s always enjoyable. Work Friends: These are the people you see every day at work. You might not socialise outside of work, but you still consider them friends.
The Importance of Choosing the Right Friends
The right friends can have a hugely positive impact on your life, while the wrong friends can lead you down a path of destruction. It’s important to choose your friends carefully, and make sure they are good people who will have a positive influence on you. The right friends will always be there for you, no matter what. They will support you through thick and thin, and they will never judge you. Good friends are also honest with you, and they will tell you the truth even when it’s hard to hear. On the other hand, bad friends will only be around when things are going well for you. They will disappear when you need them the most, and they will always put themselves first. Bad friends will also gossip about you behind your back, and they will try to control you. It’s important to spend time with good people who make you feel happy and supported. These are the kinds of friends who will help you reach your goals and make positive changes in your life.
How to Make and Keep Friends
Here are a few tips on how to make and keep friends:
1) Talk to people: This may seem like an obvious one, but it’s worth repeating. One of the best ways to make friends is simply to talk to people. Get to know them and let them get to know you. This can be done in person or online, but either way, it’s important to put yourself out there and engage with others. 2) Find common interests: A great way to make friends is to find people who share your interests. This could be anything from music and movies to books and sports. When you have things in common with someone, it’s easier to connect with them and develop a friendship. 3) Be yourself: It’s important to be genuine when making friends. Don’t try to be someone you’re not just to impress others or fit in. Be confident in who you are and people will be drawn to your authenticity. 4) Offer help: Friendships are built on give-and-take. If you see someone struggling with something, offer your help or advice. It’s a great way to show that you care and
Friends are an important part of our lives. They provide companionship, support, and love. They help us to laugh and to cry. They are there for us when we need them and they help us to grow as people. We should cherish our friends and value their role in our lives.
People Also Ask:
1.What is the value of friends? Ans: Friends are valuable because they can help us in a lot of different ways. They can provide moral support, help us deal with difficult situations, and provide us with advice.
2. Why is value important in friendship? Ans: Friends are valuable because they provide support, help us feel good about ourselves, and give us a sense of belonging. Friendship is more than just a monetary exchange; it’s about caring for and supporting one another .
3. Why are friends 10 lines important? Ans: Friends are important for many reasons.
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- Friends can provide emotional support when times are tough.
- Friends can help us to learn and grow.
- Friends can be a sounding board for our thoughts, ideas, and opinions.
- friends can make sure we stay on track with our goals.
- Friends can be a source of fun and laughter.
- Friends can be a source of strength during difficult times.
- They help us develop new relationships that we may later treasure.
- They can be there for us when we need them the most.
- Friends give us a good understanding of the society
- Friends are unique and cannot be found anywhere else.
4. What is the value of best friend in life? Ans: The value of a best friend in life is priceless. Friends are often there for you when times are tough and can help to fill that hole in your life. It is said that a friendship with someone is like a second home and can be very rewarding.
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Why Having Just a Few Close Friends Is So Much Better Than Having a Ton
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I truly believe that people come into our lives for a reason. Throughout high school and college, I met so many amazing people, but only a few became (and still remain) my close friends . And while I love being in big groups and socializing, I'm so grateful that I have my small group to turn to.
Each one of my friendships is so valuable, and I feel incredibly lucky to be able to give each one the attention it deserves.
I'll be the first to admit that I do sometimes struggle with comparing the types of friendships I have to ones I see on social media. With things like Instagram being such a huge part of our lives, it's only natural to feel pangs of jealousy while scrolling through your feed and seeing post after post of large friend groups having a Sunday Funday or weekend getaway. The group photos are packed with people, and the captions usually something like "best night ever!" And in my case, it doesn't help that my core group of friends mostly all live more than 2,000 miles away (Hi, guys! I miss you!).
But even despite this surface-level jealousy, I wouldn't change my friend group for the world. Each one of my friendships is so valuable , and I feel incredibly lucky to be able to give each one the attention it deserves. And there are so many perks to having just a few close friends! If I reach out for help, they'll drop what they're doing and be by my side no matter what. They've been there for the highest highs and the lowest lows, and I think that's special and very rare. We've been through breakups, family drama, sickness, death, career milestones, and more together, and we're still each other's ride or die. We know each other's weak spots but also aren't afraid to tell it how it is. Having just a few close friends means you really know each other, and you go far beyond surface-level acquaintances. They become your family.
This isn't to say that those who have a ton of friends don't have substantial friendships, but it's easier to get lost in the shuffle of a bigger group. You have to admit — it's extremely less stressful to plan a trip for four than 12, right? Having a few close friends absolutely rocks, and I love my little squad endlessly.
- Personal Essay
Importance of Friendship Essay Example, with Outline
Published by gudwriter on May 10, 2018 May 10, 2018
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Importance of Friendship Essay Outline
Introduction.
Thesis: Friendship brings people together in a bond that helps them realize and experience a meaningful life.
Paragraph 1:
A good friend is always available irrespective of the circumstances.
- A true friend cares for their friends, accepts them unconditionally, tolerates their shortcomings, and encourages them even in the face of hopelessness.
- A loyal friend makes one to be who they are without fearing victimization or judgment.
- A good friend can know one more than one knows themselves.
- A friend can tell one without fear what one does not want to tell oneself.
Paragraph 2:
Friendship is like a partnership since it brings two people together on equal terms that are binding to both of them.
- Friends give their all and love each other unconditionally and do even more so as to sustain it.
- The ugly, the bad, and the good should be endured in friendship.
- A good friend brings out the best in someone.
- A person in friendship expects their initiatives to be attended to even when they are down with illness.
Paragraph 3:
Friendship can be compared to family and can even do more than a family could do for a person.
- Sometimes, the friends one has are the family they wish they had or the family they find easier to deal with as compared to their blood family.
- One’s blood family may ignore, ridicule, judge, or even misunderstand them.
- One may get from their friends that which they do not get from their family.
- A true family is not linked by the bond of blood but the bond of joy and respect in each other’s life.
Paragraph 4:
“A friend in need is a friend in deed” is an old cliché that speaks about true friendship.
- It essentially means that a true friend will always help in times of need.
- I fully understood the meaning of this saying when a classmate friend of mine once handed in my takeaway assignment in my absence.
Friendship brings people together to form a greater and stronger whole than its individual parts. Friends act and react in ways that show that they love and care for each other.
Importance of Friendship Essay Example
Almost every human being has friends or at least a friend with whom they spend time together. Friendship is about knowing someone better than others do and counting on them whenever the need arises. A friend is like a gift that one gives oneself. It is doubtless that out of friendship, one lives the fullness of life. Some of the qualities that are expected from friendship include trust, honesty, and authenticity. These are qualities that are majorly concerned with remaining true to a friend and providing them a shoulder to lean on all the time. Friendship brings people together in a bond that helps them realize and experience a meaningful life. Gudwriter offers two paragraph essay examples from any topic.
A good friend is always available irrespective of the circumstances. A true friend cares for their friends, accepts them unconditionally, tolerates their shortcomings, and encourages them even in the face of hopelessness. Even at that moment when everyone decides to walk away from a person for whatever reason(s), their true friend would walk in and be with them and support them. With a loyal friend, one can be who they are without fearing victimization or judgment because they know the friend fully understands them. A good friend can as a matter of fact know one more than one knows themselves. In addition, a friend can tell one without fear what one does not want to tell oneself. If one is on a wrong path, the friend would tell them as soon as they notice it.
Additionally, friendship is like a partnership since it brings two people together on equal terms that are binding to both of them. They give their all and love each other unconditionally and do even more so as to sustain it. In a friendship, there should be expected to be the ugly, the bad, and the good, all of which should be endured. A good friend brings out the best in someone by encouraging them and prevailing upon them to make the best out of their abilities and strengths. Just like in a business partnership, a person in friendship would expect their initiatives to be attended to even when they are down with illness. This is why it could be true to say that life is partly what one makes it and partly what the friends they choose make it.
Friendship can also be compared to family and can even do more than a family could do for a person. Sometimes, the friends one has are the family they wish they had or the family they find easier to deal with as compared to their blood family. One’s blood family may ignore, ridicule, judge, or even misunderstand them. In such a case, they would get from their friends that which they do not get from their family. However, in the best case scenario, friendship can also develop between or among family members. Normally, a true family is not linked by the bond of blood but the bond of joy and respect in each other’s life. One should consider a good friend of theirs as their greatest relation because just one loyal friend is more than a thousand relatives.
“ A friend in need is a friend in deed ” is an old cliché that speaks about true friendship. It essentially means that a true friend will always help in times of need. I never really gave much weight to this saying until I once had to rely on a friend and classmate for an important favor. I had missed school due to an unavoidable circumstance on a day everyone in the class was to hand in their final takeaway assignment in print format. I tried calling people I had thought were my friends among my classmates but none was willing to help. When I was just about to give up, Jasmine, a classmate who was not so close a friend, called and asked me to email her my assignment. I later learnt she downloaded the assignment, printed it, and handed it in together with hers. From then, I am careful about people I treat as friends.
Friendship brings people together to form a greater and stronger whole than its individual parts. Friends act and react in ways that show that they not only love each other but care for them too. It is akin to striking a partnership in which one partner is always there for the other partner in his or her absence. Friends broaden each other’s horizon by opening new doors for each other. They seek to soar beyond limits as a single determined force. Indeed, friendship guarantees one a meaningful and fulfilling life.
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Why is friendship important? Surprising health benefits of having friends
Loneliness is an epidemic in the United States. But why is friendship important? For starters, it can combat loneliness and the health risks it brings.
A growing epidemic in the United States, loneliness affects thousands of people. But unlike with cancer or diabetes, not everyone understands its severity or its impact on our physical and mental health.
Loneliness is an emotional state that stems from social isolation, or a lack of meaningful relationships, social contact or support. In 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General released a report claiming that 1 in 2 American adults is lonely . The report also found that this is partly due to a significant decline in friendships over the past several decades.
People who feel lonely may desire a deeper level of connection with others than they actually have. Let's take a closer look at friendship and why it's important for our mental health to form close connections with others.
Why is friendship important?
Society tends to emphasize romantic relationships as the most important form of connection, but friendship is just as vital for maintaining a healthy and meaningful life. While a Pew Research Center survey found that 23% of U.S. adults felt being married is important for living a fulfilling life, 61% said close friendships are essential .
But what is it about building and maintaining friendships that contributes to well-being? It's not just that it feels good to be around someone with whom we have shared values and interests. Friends can help us feel less lonely and isolated. Whether we realize it or not, these feelings can have a negative impact on our mental and physical health.
How do loneliness and social isolation affect our health?
Even before the stay-at-home orders and quarantines of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of Americans were dealing with loneliness and isolation — and many still are. A recent poll from the American Psychiatric Association (APA) found that 43% of adults felt their levels of loneliness had not changed since the pandemic and a quarter said they were lonelier.
Research has found that social isolation and loneliness are linked to an increased risk of several health conditions , including:
- Depression and anxiety
- Heart disease and stroke
- Premature death
- Type 2 diabetes
Loneliness has also been linked to higher cortisol levels — the stress hormone — in the body, leading to headaches, trouble sleeping, weight gain and more.
What are the health benefits of friendship?
Friendship is important for combating loneliness and staying healthy, in body and mind.
People who have friends and close confidants are more satisfied with their lives and less likely to suffer from depression, according to a 2020 study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry. Research has also found that close friendships can change how we respond to stress. When we talk to a supportive friend, for example, our blood pressure reactivity — a pattern showing how our blood pressure responds to psychological stress over time — is lower than when we talk to someone we have mixed feelings about.
Having good friends can also boost our feelings of self-esteem and self-worth. APA research has found that positive social relationships and support shape the development of self-esteem in children and adults of all ages. When we have high self-esteem, we typically have better friendships, creating a positive feedback loop.
How to make new friends later in life
If you feel like it's hard to make new friends as an adult, you're not alone. During college, there are seemingly endless opportunities to meet new people — in the classroom, at sporting events, social clubs, parties and other places. But as older adults, we may go straight home from work (if we have to leave the house at all), making it harder to meet people organically. Add partners, children and other responsibilities to the mix, and we simply don't have time to expand our social circles.
But making friends as an adult is possible if you're willing to put in the time and effort. Here are some things to try:
- Get involved in your community: Participating in local events is a great way to meet new people. Try volunteering, taking classes that interest you or frequenting a local spot — like a community garden, bookstore or restaurant — to meet people with shared interests.
- Join a club, gym or sports team: Regular group activities can help you develop familiarity and rapport with others. Having a shared interest helps break the ice so you can start getting to know new people. Running groups, book clubs and recreational sports teams are all great places to start.
- Reach out to old friends: If you've lost touch with old friends, try reconnecting. After all, you already have a foundation you can build on — and plenty to catch up on.
- Make connections through others: One of the most common ways to meet new people is through those you already know. Family members, acquaintances and even coworkers may be able to introduce you to others with shared interests, so ask around.
In a world where loneliness is becoming a public health emergency, it's never been more important to prioritize connection. Although meeting new people isn't always easy as we get older, it's crucial to our health to maintain close bonds with others.
Find information about mental health resources from our larger health network, HCA Healthcare.
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Essay on Importance of Friends in our Life for Students
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Table of Contents
Essay on Importance of Friends: It is rightly said, “Friends are the family we choose ourselves”. It is as important to have friends as it is to have a family. Good friends help, guide and support us at every stage.
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Friends give us emotional support, they help us during difficult times and make us feel special. Blessed are those who have true friends in life. Here are some essays on Importance of Friends in our Life of varying lengths. You can choose any Importance of Friends in our Life essay as per the need.
Long and Short Essay on Importance of Friends in our Life in English
We have provided below short and long essay on importance of friends in our life in English. The essays have been listen in simple English language for your information so that you can easily remember them and present them when needed.
After reading the essays you will know what the importance of friends in our life is, how friends help us in studies and also in other matters, what qualities do good friends share etc.
You can use these essays in your school assignments wherein you are expected to write an essay or take part in discussion over importance of friends in life.
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Essay on Importance of Friends in our Life 200 words
Friends are extremely important for everyone. Whether it is a toddler, a teenager, a middle aged person or an old person – everyone needs good friends around to live life to the fullest.
During childhood, friendship helps in making us understand and develop the habit of sharing and caring. Small kids develop friendship faster and enjoy the company of their friends. They play and learn together. Friends are important for their proper growth and development. As teenagers, friends become all the more important for us. We go through numerous emotional, physical and mental changes during our teenage. Many of the problems faced during this age cannot be discussed with our parents and other family members. However, we are quite comfortable sharing these with our friends. Having good friends who can listen to our issues and provide us support and guidance are indeed a blessing during this age.
We have all heard about mid-life crisis. More and more people these days are suffering from this problem. Their family, job, kids and almost everyone and everything around begins to appear as a burden to them at this age. Having good friends around at this time can help in bringing about positivity amid this emotional upheaval. Friends are equally important during old age. With the growing nuclear family system couples are left alone during their old age. If they have friends around, their life remains joyful and interesting instead of becoming dull.
Friends form an essential part of our lives. Life becomes more enjoyable and bearable when we have good friends around. Even one real friend can bring about a positive change in our life. Here is why friends are important:
True friends are extremely supportive of each other. They support one another at various levels. They help in bringing out the best in each other by extending help when it comes to studies and other activities. My friends are always ready to share their notes with me whenever I miss out any class. This is a great help for me. They also act as an emotional support. Whenever I am down emotionally, I turn to my best friend. She knows how to calm me and support me at such a time.
Good friends are also our best guides. They are there to guide us at every step. Whenever I need advice regarding handling my relationships, managing my studies or participating in other activities my friends are there to guide me. They are also there to guide me whenever I break down emotionally. They help me look at the positives in life and shun the negativity.
There is no denying the fact that having friends makes life more fun and enjoyable. Being around friends is extremely fun and exciting. I love going out on trips with friends. While I enjoy family trips too however the enjoyment on trips planned with friends is simply unmatched. Partying with friends, gossiping with them for hours, going for shopping and movies with them and indulging in crazy activities that only your group can understand is all extremely fun.
I am lucky to have a crazy bunch of friends whose level of craziness matches mine all the way. They make my life amazing and so full of life.
Essay on Importance of Friends in our Life 400 words
Friendship is known to be the most beautiful relationship in the world. We choose our friends on our own unlike our family members and relatives who form a part of our lives whether or not we want them to. A person who has a bunch of good friends around is happier than those who don’t.
Friends Extend Emotional Support
If you have even one good friend in life, you will know what I mean. Among other things, I cherish my friends for extending emotional support. There are numerous instances in life when we get emotional and just want to talk our heart out to somebody. There are many things that we cannot share with our parents and siblings for the fear of hurting them or invoking their anger. This is when we can turn to our friends. Good friends are always there to listen to you endlessly. They are there for you during your difficult times when you have an emotional outburst. Sometimes, all we need is someone who can listen to us without passing any judgement and forming any opinions about us. This type of comfort level is only found in friends. They listen to us and help us get over that emotional phase.
I remember the times when I have an argument with my mother or sister or get a scolding from my father or teacher for some reason, it becomes very difficult for me to concentrate on my studies until the things resolve. All I keep thinking about is that I should not have said or done things that led to such a situation. I almost break emotionally and go on a guilt trip. These are the times when I need my friends the most. I turn to them for advice to get things sorted. At times, their advice works at times it doesn’t. However, just venting out my feelings in front of them can make me feel much better. I know that I have someone whom I can fall back on whenever I am faced with an emotional situation. They may or may not be able to alter the situation however at least they help me overcome that guilty feeling by reminding me that I am just a human being and that I do not have to be too harsh on myself.
I am lucky I have some really amazing friends around. They are my pillar of strength and as important to me as my family. Without them my life would have been extremely dull.
Essay on Importance of Friends in our Life 500 words
It is rightly said, “True friendship multiplies the good in life and divides its evils. Strive to have friends, for life without friends is like life on a desert island”. Friendship is indeed very important in our lives. True friends are blessings from God. They make our life worth living.
Importance of Friends for Toddlers
It has been observed that when there are two children of the same age group in a house, they grow and develop faster at various levels as compared to single child in a family. This is because they share similar interests, indulge in similar activities, play, enjoy and learn from each other. However, unfortunately, in today’s time, most families have single child. Most kids are left alone with maids or with their mother who are already loaded with numerous other responsibilities that they are unable to give enough attention to their kids. This hampers their physical as well as mental growth. While the nuclear family system has become the need of the hour, we can ensure proper growth of the toddlers by helping them build friendships. Parents must take their toddlers to parks where they can find kids of the same age. Being around kids of their own age is a delightful experience for them. They play, learn and grow the right way when they are surrounded with friends.
This is also one of the main reasons for the establishment of so many play schools these days. Kids who are sent to play schools learn to share and care and grow better. They are better prepared to take on the regular school as compared to those who do not attend play school.
Importance of Friends during Old Age
Earlier there was joint family system. People lived with their extended families and rejoiced every occasion with them. They helped and supported each other with various tasks. Friends were still important and their presence added to the overall mood of every occasion. Besides, there are always numerous things that one cannot share with his/her family member but can easily share with friends. However, the growing nuclear family system has made people realise the importance of friends all the more. Not just the young couples and kids, the old men and women also feel the need to have a good friends circle. Old people these days left alone as their children move out for professional and personal reasons. Those who have a good friends circle can survive well even after their children get busy with their lives on the other hand those who do not have friends often feel lonely and get into depression or incur other such illnesses.
So, people belonging to the older generation, these days, seriously need some good friends. Many clubs and societies have formed to help old people bond with each other.
While friends are extremely important for kids in their growing age as well as for the older generation, people from other age groups also need the gift of friendship as much. Friends teach us a lot in life and make us stronger. They are as important as our family.
Also Check: My Best Friend Paragraph
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Essay on Importance of Friends in our Life 600 words
Friends make our lives special. If you do not have friends then you merely exist, you don’t live in the true sense. The importance of friendship has emphasized time and again and the concept not overrated.
Why Having Friends at work is Important?
There is a lot of competition in corporate offices these days. People need to work for long hours, go to work on the weekends and even require going on official tours regularly. There is a lot of work pressure and life can become extremely stressful in such a situation. However, not when there are friends at work. When you find friends in your colleagues, your workplace becomes an interesting place and you look forward to go to your office. You know that there are people around who are going through the same amount of work pressure and stress. Conversing with them, venting out your feelings about work environment and taking and giving them tips on how to handle work pressure can make you feel much better.
You need emotional support when your boss shouts at you for some reason or doesn’t grant you leave or sets unrealistic targets for you. Having friends at office can help in lowering stress caused due to such reasons as they understand your situation best. Office then doesn’t just remains a place to immerse yourself in work or take instructions from your boss it becomes livelier. It has seen that those who have friends at office tend to stick to the organization for long and take fewer leaves.
However, in the corporate world people often make friends with selfish motifs. So, before sharing any important information or getting emotionally attached with your colleagues turned friends you must ensure that they genuinely interested in your friendship and not because being with you benefits them in some way.
Friends Help in Enhancing our Personality
Imagine what kind of a person you will become if your life only involves going to the school and coming back home, if all you do at school is study and stay confined to your home with minimum interaction with the outside world? Your life will become extremely dull and boring. Many people these days lead such a life as they grow old. This is especially so with the housewives who stay confined to their homes most of the times and do not make friendships outside. This way they lose confidence. They become socially awkward and eventually do not like going out and mingling with people even when they get a chance. Many of them even get into depression. Having friends makes life worth living. They also help in enhancing our personality. People who surrounded by friends are emotionally strong. They are also more confident as compared to those who do not have strong friendships. This is because they have people around to discuss issues, vent out their feelings, seek advice and go out.
Hostel Life considered the Best
Hostel life considered to the best time in a person’s life and this is mainly because they surrounded by friends during this time. Friends can extremely fun to be around. This is the reason why a place where we away from family, all on our own can also appear good. The importance of friends can felt at this time and having good friends around can blessing. Most of the friendship bonds formed in hostels last a lifetime. Friends are there to provide emotional support to each other. They cheer us up when we feel low, help us with the studies, travel for kilometers with us for shopping and indulge in various fun activities.
Also Check: Paragraph on Friendship
Friends are an essential part of our lives. They add vibrancy to our lives. Without friends life can be quite dull and boring.
Essay on Importance of Friends FAQs
Why do we need friends for class 4.
Friends help us learn, grow, and share our feelings. They make school and life more enjoyable and less lonely.
Why friends are important for Class 3?
Friends make us smile, help us learn, and are there when we need them. They make our days brighter and full of fun.
What is most important in a friendship?
Trust, kindness, and understanding are essential in a friendship, creating a strong bond based on respect and support.
What is a friend short essay?
A friend is someone who cares, listens, and stands by you through good and bad times, making life more beautiful and enjoyable.
Why are friends important in our life for kids?
Friends make life fun and help kids learn about sharing, caring, and teamwork, while also providing comfort and friendship.
How do I write an essay about a friend?
Start with an introduction, share stories or experiences, and highlight your friend's qualities that make them special to you.
What is the importance of friends?
Friends offer companionship, understanding, and encouragement, enhancing our emotional well-being and providing a strong support system.
What is the importance of friends in our life essay?
Friends bring joy, support, and a sense of belonging, making life happier and less lonely. They help us grow, learn, and face challenges together.
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A 2021 study found that around a third of all parents experience loneliness. That's why it's so important for all parents (whether they stay at home or work outside the home) to find the right balance of social activities, exercise, sleep, hobbies, and self-care. Additionally, it's helpful to make the most of your family time, including creating gadget-free zones and planning fun activities you can all enjoy.
It's also key to take care of your own emotional well-being and let your children spend some time away from you. Whether it's a date night with your spouse or scheduling a day off so you can have some alone time, you're not going to shortchange your child because you didn't spend every minute with them. Giving yourself parenting breaks and opportunities to socialize is important for your well-being, particularly during times of stress.
Parenthood and well-being: A decade in review . J Marriage Fam .
Stay at home moms and dads account for about 1-in-5 U.S. parents . Pew Research Center.
After decades of decline, a rise in stay-at-home mothers . Pew Research Center.
Home with mom: The effects of stay-at-home parents on children’s long-run educational outcomes . J Labor Econ.
National Home Education Research Institute. Research facts on homeschooling .
Effect of parental involvement on children’s academic achievement in chile . Front Psychol.
School performance among children and adolescents during COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review . Children (Basel) .
The NICHD study of early child care and youth development . U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Toddlers’ stress during transition to childcare . European Early Childhood Education Research Journal .
Examining change in cortisol patterns during the 10-week transition to a new child-care setting . Child Dev .
7 key findings about stay-at-home moms . Pew Research Center.
The mother's perspective: Factors considered when choosing to enter a stay-at-home father and working mother relationship . Am J Mens Health .
The relationships between mothers' work pathways and physical and mental health . J Health Soc Behav .
The motherhood penalty at midlife: Long-term effects of children on women's careers . J Marriage Fam .
Parents' work schedules and time spent with children . Community Work Fam .
Gallup. Stay-at-home moms report more depression, sadness, anger .
Parenthood and happiness: Effects of work-family reconciliation policies in 22 OECD countries . AJS .
Does the amount of time mothers spend with children or adolescents matter? . J Marriage Fam.
Experiencing loneliness in parenthood: A scoping review . Perspect Public Health .
First things first: Parent psychological flexibility and self-compassion during COVID-19. Behav Anal Pract .
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Advice | Asking Eric: Former friend with benefits…
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Advice | Asking Eric: Former friend with benefits suggests we live together
![essay benefits of having friends R. Eric Thomas](https://www.chicagotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/168458085_133067885490778_3610647909410223502_n.jpg?w=85)
He would like for me to move in with him and he offers a better financial situation than what I am dealing with.
However, it comes with the price of services, which I no longer desire to fulfill. I don’t want to commit to that, but I still care for him deeply. Is there another solution that would make both of us happy together?
– Benefits Negotiator
Dear Negotiator: This friendship is not a game of Plinko, and the price is not right.
He may think that his solution is innocuous, even ingenious, but your survival shouldn’t be dependent on sex, especially sex you don’t want to have anymore.
Living together is going to be complicated because he’s made part of your relationship transactional. Even if you say you’re going to keep it platonic, will he honor that or will he push that boundary?
Ask yourself whether this friendship is right for you. If you’re struggling financially, shouldn’t he help you without asking for something in return? For now, I think you’d best maintain separate houses and separate benefits plans.
Dear Eric: I’m a straight woman and good friends with a gay male. Lately, I’ve wondered if we could be more than friends.
He has not been in any relationship or dated anyone since we met three years ago.
I’m willing to ask if he’d consider it but not at the cost of the friendship. What should/could I say to him to gauge the possibility?
– Curious Companion
Dear Companion: My memory is a little hazy, but it seems like Jennifer Aniston starred in a movie about this exact scenario at least twice in the early-2000s. It never really worked out.
Now, we live in the future and sexual orientation is a spectrum, but I have a lot of questions.
Are you attracted to him?
Is he attracted to you?
I could go on with more granular questions about your friendship (and the movie career of Jennifer Aniston), but those are the baselines.
You two are, presumably, very close. Interrogate your feelings. Is it platonic love or something deeper? If it’s the latter, then being honest about your feelings, respectfully, isn’t going to damage the relationship.
Say, “I think there’s a deeper connection between us and I’m curious about it. Do you agree? Do you feel the same way? Are you willing to explore that?”
Then accept whatever answer he gives you, even if it’s “I’m very gay but I like you as a friend.”
Dear Eric: My brother and my sister-in-law called me to tell me that their granddaughter wants to come to a university in my city. They told her she would have to depend on me for a place to stay and financial help.
The issue is I rarely talk to my brother, by his choice, and I have never met his granddaughter. I do not even know her name!
Further, it appears he has told his wife that he helped pay for me to go to college. That is a boldface lie!
When I said no to their request, they got angry. Since I rarely talk to them anyway, I really don’t care what they think. However, they are trying to lobby the family that I should be willing to help “family”. I have no intention of changing my mind.
How should I handle queries about my decision when other family members call with questions?
– Neither a Borrower Nor a Lender
Dear Lender: People love to spend other people’s money, don’t they? Must be nice!
When family calls to lobby you, ask them how much they’re contributing to the family fund to help this granddaughter. If the answer is “nothing”, then that’s exactly how much they can tell you about this matter.
Dear Eric: Your response to No More Age Talk (July 9) was good, however, there is a better way to document age-related workplace discrimination: on a nonwork-computer (because employers act as host to company LANS and can access the information).
The documentation should be prepared each evening when the employee gets home, entering the date and, if possible, time of the comment/conversation. The employee should also note who was present, what they were talking about, what they were wearing and any personal details (vacations, family circumstances) that were discussed.
There is solid social science about the attribution of credibility increasing with details. The recorder should never exaggerate accuracy, because a jury is instructed that if a witness is proven to be false in part, they may be considered false in toto.
– Former Attorney
Dear Attorney: Thanks for this thorough advice!
(Send questions to R. Eric Thomas at [email protected] or P.O. Box 22474, Philadelphia, PA 19110.)
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How Social Security Benefits Work
- How to Get a Personal Loan
Alternatives to Personal Loans
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The Bottom Line
- Personal Loans
Is Social Security Enough Income to Get a Personal Loan?
Social Security benefits can be used as proof of income when applying for a personal loan
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Borrowing money doesn't necessarily stop once you hit retirement age. Even if you're collecting Social Security benefits and have other sources of income, you could face a major expense that exceeds your available funds. If that's the case, you may want to look into taking out a personal loan . Here is what you need to know.
Key Takeaways
- You can take out a personal loan while receiving Social Security benefits.
- The loan proceeds will not affect Social Security retirement benefits.
- However, if you're receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) from Social Security, any loan proceeds you don't spend could count against you and reduce your benefits.
- If you don't qualify for a personal loan, you have other borrowing options to choose from, including using a credit card or tapping into your home's equity.
Social Security benefits are administered by the U.S. Social Security Administration. They come in several different forms, each with their own qualification requirements. They include:
- Retirement benefits
- Survivors benefits
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
- Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)
How to Get a Personal Loan on Social Security
When you apply for a personal loan, prospective lenders will want to make sure that you'll be able to repay them when the time comes. The sources of your income aren't necessarily an issue, so long as you can prove you'll have enough money coming in to keep up with the payments on your loan.
In filling out a personal loan application, you'll want to include all of your income sources, whether that's through a job where you get a regular paycheck, alimony, child support, investment dividends, retirement income from Social Security or a pension , or anything else. How much you bring in each month can not only affect whether you can get a loan but also how much money the financial institution will be willing to lend you.
Getting a personal loan won't impact your Social Security retirement benefits . However, if you're receiving SSI , it may affect that. That's because SSI has resource limits, and if you don't spend the funds you borrow in a given month, that amount will count toward your resource limit for the following month. In that situation, it makes sense to borrow only as much as you plan on using right away.
The current resource limits for SSI recipients are $2,000 for individuals and $3,000 for couples, with certain assets, such as a home and one vehicle, being exempt.
If you can't qualify for a personal loan, or simply don't want one, there are other options for borrowing money. These include:
Credit Cards or Credit Card Cash Advances
If you can cover your expenses with a credit card you already possess, you won't have to complete a loan application or add a new bill to your budget. Using a credit card could make sense if can pay off your balance the next month or within a few months. If you run a balance for an extended period, however, it can get expensive.
If you need cash, you could also consider a credit card cash advance . Cash advances carry a different—and typically higher— annual percentage rate (APR) from normal purchases and usually involve some extra fees. So they can be a very expensive way to borrow.
Home equity loans or home equity lines of credit (HELOCs)
If you own your home, you can borrow against the equity you have in it through a home equity loan or home equity line of credit (HELOC) . With the former, you typically receive a lump sum of money that you then pay back in regular installments. With the latter, the lender provides you with a line of credit you can borrow from as needed.
Interest rates tend to be lower with home equity products compared to personal loans. However, both home equity loans and HELOCs use your home as collateral , so if you can't pay the money back, you risk losing it.
Friends and Family Loans
If you're comfortable doing so, you can also ask close friends and family members if they can lend you the money you need. But make sure you work out a payment plan and stick to it to avoid any ill feelings. You may also want to put everything in writing, just in case.
Can You Get a Personal Loan on Social Security?
You can take out a personal loan while you're receiving Social Security benefits if a lender is willing to give you one. Lenders will want to know that you have enough income to repay the loan, and Social Security benefits count toward that.
What Disqualifies You From Getting a Personal Loan?
Every lender has its own requirements for granting personal loans. You could be disqualified for any number of reasons, including an inadequate credit score or poor credit history, asking to borrow too little (or too much), or having insufficient income.
What Is the Easiest Loan to Be Approved For?
Some financial institutions have stricter lending standards than others, including minimum credit score requirements in some cases. If you can get pre-qualified for a loan at a particular lender—which doesn't require a credit check and won't hurt your credit score—you'll know how likely you are to be approved. While pre-qualification doesn't guarantee that you'll get a loan, it helps smooth out the process if you know you're eligible before completing a full application.
Social Security benefits are one source of income that can help you qualify for a personal loan if you need one. The proceeds from such a loan won't affect your retirement benefits, but they can have an impact on your benefits if you're receiving SSI.
Social Security Administration. " Spotlight on Loans — 2023 Edition ."
Social Security Administration. " Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Resources ."
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. " Can I Withdraw Money From My Credit Card at an ATM? "
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Why Josh Shapiro Would Make Such a Difference for Kamala Harris
![essay benefits of having friends Gov. Josh Shapiro at a rally in Ambler, Pa., supporting Kamala Harris for president, on July 29.](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2024/08/03/multimedia/03penn-cgfh/03penn-cgfh-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)
By Mark Penn
Mr. Penn was a pollster and an adviser to President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton from 1995 to 2008. He is chairman of the Harris Poll and chief executive of Stagwell Inc.
Vice President Kamala Harris has one overriding weakness as a candidate for president — she is perceived as being to the left of Joe Biden. Ms. Harris has criticized U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, supported single-payer health care and even praised the “defund the police” movement. More recently, opponents have blamed her for what they see as a too-porous southern border.
Ms. Harris will not win Electoral College swing states and the presidency unless she convinces voters that her administration will share the sort of centrist policies and leadership that were essential to the victories of Mr. Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. And an emphatic and persuasive remedy to that problem would be to pick Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania as her running mate.
Mr. Shapiro, who is unpopular with many progressives over energy policy, school choice and other issues, would send a signal that Ms. Harris is not captive to the left and that she puts experience ahead of ideology. Choosing him would add an experienced governor from a swing state who could appeal to many moderate Democrats, independents and some Nikki Haley voters on a multitude of key issues. He would provide balance to the ticket and underscore that there is a place for moderates in today’s Democratic Party.
For those who look at politics as a mosaic of identities, Mr. Shapiro would also reassure Jewish voters — long a key part of winning Democratic voter coalitions — at a time when many of them see hostility and antisemitism coming from some in the far left of the party. Now, some pundits and analysts of presidents and their running mates will wonder if adding an observant Jew to a ticket headed by a Black woman is a ticket to nowhere. But the elections of Mr. Obama and now the surge of Ms. Harris suggest that America is a lot more focused on party unity and stopping Donald Trump than on race and religion. Remember that Joe Lieberman was the first Jewish vice-presidential nominee, in 2000, and he deepened the heft, experience and integrity of the ticket led by Al Gore.
Pennsylvania, of course, is a critical battleground state and a must-win for the Harris ticket. With its 19 electoral votes toward a needed 270, the state has swung back and forth recently, going for Mr. Trump in 2016 by 44,000 votes and for Mr. Biden in 2020 by about 82,000 votes — razor-thin margins of victory that show that the state can be flipped easily with the right messengers and message.
While the history of governors helping to deliver their states is mixed, Mr. Shapiro has an appeal outside of geography — one recent poll found that 18 percent more Pennsylvania voters approve than disapprove of his job as governor — because he is capable of actually bringing together a broad coalition of voters. He soundly defeated his Republican opponent for governor in 2022 by nearly 15 percentage points.
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Friendship is a lovely relation without which life seems dull. It is the relationship with our friends that teaches us to share, love, care and most importantly helps us to fight odds and be successful. Having true friends acts as a boon. Friends increase the sense of belongingness and generate a feel-good factor.
The benefits of having friends extend far beyond our emotional well-being. By prioritizing social connections, we can improve our physical health and well-being. The Impact of Friendship on Society. Friendship is not only important for individuals but also for society as a whole. Our social connections are crucial in shaping our communities and ...
Friendship is one of the most important relationships we can have in our lives. It is a bond of mutual affection, trust, and support that can bring us immense joy and comfort. In this essay, we will explore the characteristics of true friendship, the benefits of having close friends, and how to cultivate and maintain strong friendships.
Friends can help you celebrate good times and provide support during bad times. Friends prevent isolation and loneliness and give you a chance to offer needed companionship, too. Friends can also: Increase your sense of belonging and purpose. Boost your happiness and reduce your stress.
Benefits of having friends. The benefits of having friends are numerous. Firstly, friends offer emotional and mental support, which can help one cope with life's challenges. Secondly, having friends increases happiness and well-being. Studies have shown that people with friends are happier than those without friends. Thirdly, having friends ...
500+ Words Essay on Friendship. Friendship is one of the greatest bonds anyone can ever wish for. Lucky are those who have friends they can trust. Friendship is a devoted relationship between two individuals. They both feel immense care and love for each other. Usually, a friendship is shared by two people who have similar interests and ...
The benefits of having a friend who is a polar opposite; Encouragement to try new things and gain new perspectives; Creating a balance in the friendship; Builder Friend. ... Friendship Essay Example. Making friends is a very important part of our lives, whether we realize it or not. Who we surround ourselves with represent who we are as a ...
Ans: The value of a best friend in life is priceless. Friends are often there for you when times are tough and can help to fill that hole in your life. It is said that a friendship with someone is like a second home and can be very rewarding. Value of Friends Essay - This essay looks at the importance of friendship.
Psychological research suggests that stable, healthy friendships are crucial for our well-being and longevity. People who have friends and close confidants are more satisfied with their lives and less likely to suffer from depression ( Choi, K. W., et al., The American Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 177, No. 10, 2020 ).
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Importance of Friendship Essay Outline. Introduction. Thesis: Friendship brings people together in a bond that helps them realize and experience a meaningful life. Body. Paragraph 1: A good friend is always available irrespective of the circumstances. A true friend cares for their friends, accepts them unconditionally, tolerates their ...
Having good friends can also boost our feelings of self-esteem and self-worth. APA research has found that positive social relationships and support shape the development of self-esteem in children and adults of all ages. When we have high self-esteem, we typically have better friendships, creating a positive feedback loop.
Essay on Importance of Friends in our Life 500 words. It is rightly said, "True friendship multiplies the good in life and divides its evils. Strive to have friends, for life without friends is like life on a desert island". Friendship is indeed very important in our lives. True friends are blessings from God.
Benefits of Having Many Friends. No human should be alone. We all need connection, communication, support and protection. All sort of these things are mostly thought that they are given by our first form of relation, family. However, there is also another important relation second to family which is called friendship.
Having many friends make us able to share our feelings or thoughts and share food and secrets. Friends can even support us when we need help or when we are in need of money. They can make our lives better and brighter and also encourage us to do what we want and be confident. But many friends can cause a bad habit.
In summary, friendship is essential. Humans are social creatures which need friends to accompany their life. Having good friends could lead us to get out from the trouble and bring us to a better condition. That's why having good friends are beneficial. Forming strong friendships is one of the most important aspects of life as a student ...
Dear Friend: Like a contractor who is perpetually six months behind schedule, I have bad news for you. You're both going to be much happier if you continue to live separately.
A 2014 study found that the benefits of having a parent at home extend beyond the early years of a child's life. The study measured the educational performance of 68,000 children.
Dear Eric: I have a long-time friend (with benefits) from the past who is still in my life, though platonic. He lives a very comfortable life without the monetary struggles I deal with day to day.
As she ramps up her nascent presidential campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris is revealing how she will address the key issues facing the nation.. In speeches and rallies, she has voiced support ...
Social Security benefits can be used as proof of income when applying for a personal loan Dori Zinn is a personal finance journalist with more than a decade helping people understand money. Her ...
Pennsylvania, of course, is a critical battleground state and a must-win for the Harris ticket. With its 19 electoral votes toward a needed 270, the state has swung back and forth recently, going ...