Relationships Sundays

"A friend to all is a friend to none." -Aristotle

Having relationships is an important aspect of our life. It helps us develop skills, communication ties and it makes our life better. You may ask how does it make it better? Well having a relationship either romantic or platonic is not only beneficial for our social life but also for our mental health. Having someone to go to cinema or shopping or play football allows us to bond and form strong ties. Those bonds are also important when it comes to having a shoulder to cry on or just having someone to laugh with. In short, our lives are better when we have some kind of relationship with someone.

In this article I will focus on friendship. I will discuss the differences between having a friend and an acquaintance and I will write few tips on how to make friends. Magazines describe a friend as someone who will laugh at you before picking you up, while an acquaintance will pick you up just after you fall. I think there is some truth in this statement. A friend is a person who will laugh at you just to turn an awkward situation into a funny memory later on. An acquaintance is a person who will help you up, ask if you’re alright and won’t mention the fall again. You see the truth is there is no specific meaning to the word friend. You define the meaning of this word.

Once you have your definition of the word friend, you choose qualities that you want him or her to have. Do you want your friend to be friendly, polite, smart, cute, honest? Whatever you want you can have. To be honest your friend does not have to be the cutest person on the planet. You want your friend to treat you with respect and make you feel happy and like you belong. To tell the truth I can not tell you what qualities are most important, for example my friend needs to be honestly, loyalty, trustworthy, intelligent and friendly. Perhaps, you are looking for different qualities in a friend and that’s okay, just as long as you are happy.

Before you make a friend, you become acquaintances with people. You see acquaintances are important, as they are your future friends. Having acquaintances is great, as you have someone to go grab a coffee or tea or just have a little chat. Even though, the feeling of having an acquaintance does not compare to the feeling of having a friend, that’s okay. Now you may ask “but how do I turn an acquaintance into friend?” Well you see there is no formula for that. You become friends in time, you will definitely know when you go to the next level. You will feel more comfortable with them, you will know weird and awkward things about them. You will know stories and memories from their childhood and you will feel like you can tell them anything and they won’t judge you or abandon you.

Another question that may be on your mind is how do I make a friend or an acquaintance. Well you can just talk to them and then the rest of the process will follow. I know that making a conversation with a stranger is difficult, I myself have anxiety when I talk to new people, that’s why I try to push myself to break my boundaries. I try to talk to as many people as I can, just introduce myself and the rest of the conversation just flows. Sometimes people remember me and sometimes they don’t and that’s okay. At first it was upsetting but I got over it and continued to talk and hang out with those that remembered me.

Having a friend is an amazing experience. When with friends we feel happy and excited. A friend is a person that is your shoulder to cry on, it’s a person that makes you laugh and smile. It is a person that you can be yourself with, it’s a person who accepts you for who you are. And if they don’t accept you for who are, well then they aren’t your friends but people that you know. If you don’t feel comfortable with them or just can’t be weird with them, dump them and forget them. Move on and find new friends that will be there for a lifetime.

Friends & Acquaintances

How many acquaintances do you have that you feel you could be good friends with?