Friendship: Is it Hard to make Friends?

When we set foot into the earth, we have nothing except the mother’s hand. After some days we come to our abode. At that time we all are like newly born birds. Everyone takes care of us at the apex and between the age of 2 and 5, all the family members give us malt drinks. Especially, in case of middle-class families we get that sweet melted drink twice a day; once in the morning and other in the afternoon. We drink that lazily in the morning because after doing that, we have to go to tuition and that’s so irritating. Who would like to rot that 2- 25th table at that age!? But, in the afternoon, we drink that very actively because we have to play with our friends.

**Would you not think friends are the best gift of almighty after parent? **

From this time we have heard the magical word ‘FRIEND’. When we grow up there are many friends in our life journey and we meet friends of different characters. But in our point of view, the soul on whom we believe more is our ‘BEST FRIEND’. As we go up in our life we lose many friends who are very close to our heart and that is only because of situations. The corresponding situations force us to forget some pages of our life to explore new pages.
Friends are vital for our well-being and there is no doubt in it. Everyone needs friends. So many of us now live miles away from our families. Now, friends are even more important for us than they have ever been before.
Not surprisingly, friendship has slightly different life stages
i.e. in our teen and adult life, we are forgetting our identities because of some other reasons and we use our friends as our reflections. However, as we get older we become more comfortable in our skin. So, we don’t need friends who are just like us. Hence, we can enjoy having friends of different ages with different tastes, interests and perspectives.
Great friends are priceless. They can lift our spirits and make us laugh and they are there for us when we need someone to talk to.
Everyone needs to have at least one great friend, they can trust and rely on. Friends make you feel comfortable with yourself. So, you don’t need to act like something you are not. you are perhaps the ‘best version’ of yourself when you are with your friends.
Best friends can be either men or women and there shouldn’t be an issue in that.
Being a best friend means understanding him/her when he/she needs a little bit of time alone. Decide what boundaries are important to you and do respect them. Best friends are the most valuable friends you have but they can’t help or support you in every aspect of your life. Don’t expect them always to be there.

How to maintain friendship:

1. You have to keep your words i.e. if you have to do something, do it because actions speak louder than words.
2. Respect each other’s opinion.
3. Communication is really important.
4. Be a good listener when he/she needs to talk.
5. Argue with each other.
   [Remember]: Arguing is healthy for any relationship and makes your friendships stronger than you think.
6. Treat them equal to you
   After all, what makes the friendship as a stranger:
   We have to remember only change is constant. Time changes. The person with whom you used to chat for hours may behave as a stranger suddenly. That’s because of the change in priorities. The people who are important to us change as time passes.
   It is a very common observation among friends that one of them was busy in work or studies and the other’s ego overpowered his affection and his finger could not type a simple” hi..” or her lips did not pass a smile when they crossed each other in the shopping mall.

As everybody plays an important role in our life( it may be family/friends) that teaches and guides us in many ways and helps us to grow as people. However, the sad truth is that the person who holds our hands and teaches us changes suddenly when other people make attendance in their life.
The question is, why does this happen?
Sometimes friends hurt each other. Sometimes rifts are created because we either accidentally or intentionally hurt one another. At times friends disagree that they simply can’t get there fast. It means a lot. It is traumatizing.
Do we change?
Sometimes we just change as people. Do you have the same friend as you did when you were 5 years old?
NO!
Your friend circle often changes if you have a life like having anything or nothing. I mean, friend circles change according to money. Some friends stick around longer and those are friends you grow with. some friends we lose track of. It’s not for any reason nearly as traumatic as hurting one another but it just happens as if you are not able to grow together. We shouldn’t compare our parents with friends. It does not serve us to hold onto regret and anger, nor blaming yourself for loss.

A friendship may have ego and attitude but it is quantitatively small when you think. After all, we know heart and stomach are our inner parts of our body but, there is much difference between them. So, we should love our friends from the core of our heart not from the stomach because they are God gifted.

Shailendra Kumar Tripathy

A student of Physics who’s love for nature is what make him write. He has been actively participating to change the mindset of the people towards the lower caste and tribal folks. His dream is to become a social worker to help the poor.