Friendship: A Greater Emotional Connection
My definition of friendship is that it is a connection between persons of reciprocal gain and affection which creates a greater emotional connection between people than a partnership. Honesty, sympathy, self-sacrifice, empathy, kindness, and shared understanding are some of the features that characterize my understanding of friendship.
True Friends: Appreciation and Trust
True friends are those who appreciate the company of each other, trust each other, as well as freely share their emotions without the fear of criticism from fellow friends, according to my experience of friendships.
Common Values and Interests
In addition, my mates are people who share mutual values, experiences, and demographics with. My primary relationship with my friends bases on various common values, interests, and commitments that bind our friendship and lift it to higher levels. Our common interests tie us closer to one another than any of us would imagine. The convergence of our interests gives us several things to enjoy jointly in the friendships and makes us spend much time together.
Caring Beyond Physical Interaction
However, that does not mean I cannot deeply care about friends with whom I cannot regularly meet physically. It is just uncommon to interact with distant friends on a regular basis. My relationships with friends also thrive due to the convergent values that we share, which keep our friendships strong and attractive.
Commitment and Ethical Correction
My friends and I are always committed to ensuring our happiness by consistently having the willingness to put our happiness before our friendship. As a true friend, I usually do not refrain from telling my friends things that I feel need to be corrected, or those that may risk splitting our friendships, if addressing them lies in the best interest of our friendship. Besides, I usually do not lack the mercy of ethically correcting my friends whenever I feel something is not happening in the right way, and I always inspire my friends to live up to their best potentials and not to get involved in dishonorable activities.
The Influence of the Internet and Environment
Various factors such as the internet and environment influence friendship experience in a broad range of ways. For example, in my experience of friendships, the internet tends to act as a configuration of space as it modifies the traditional interaction space by extending it in a manner that allows friends to be aware of each other's presence, as well share with friends with whom we are not in the same physical space. Besides, the internet breaks the shyness barrier and allows friends to share their views openly and courageously. On the other hand, the environments surrounding some of my friends such as the family also have significant impacts on the progress of friendships. The families, particularly their economic status influence the emotions and behaviors of most of my friends. However, some of my best and true friends are those who relate warmly with their parents, and take heed both the advice and guidance of the parents.
Hope and Concern for Current Friendships
The main hope regarding the state of my current friendships is that my current friendships have greater potentials for thriving to higher levels of mutual understanding and support given the commitment that my friends and I put towards ensuring lasting, beneficial, and valuable friendships. Our discussions always focus on handling friendship dilemmas, avoiding pitfalls, getting over a potential split, as well as fixing any form of disagreements. On the other hand, the greatest concern regarding the state of my current friendships is the increased levels of misunderstandings and disagreement regarding whose opinion is most preferable. However, we have the full commitment to staying in the same boat as we endure the ups and downs of the friendships. Besides, such disagreements and misunderstandings form part of what solidify our commitment towards one another, and I am hopeful that our combined accountability and social support will make us reach our individual friendship goals.
