Angel Susantin (Week 2) - The Power of ✨Friendship✨
The Power of ✨Friendship✨
by Angel Susantin
Boom. I did it. Yay, friendship! It's 1 AM and I need sleep.
There’s a surprisingly large amount of things to consider embedded in this topic, though. First off, defining what friendship is. According to wikipedia, friendship is “a relationship of mutual affection between people.” Quite broad, isn’t it? I believe that pretty much does it justice—you really can’t draw a solid line indicating when someone is or when someone is not your friend. This wobbly line varies from person to person as well. Keep in mind that when it comes to friendship, everyone has different experiences.
My mother always told me to choose my friends wisely. Over the years, I discovered the wonders of peer pressure, and considering that I want to lead a life without getting in much trouble, I saw my mom’s words as prime advice. Thus, I stuck with people that had similar interests as me (for instance, video games and not getting into legal trouble) and were generally like-minded. In addition, through the several blogs we’ve read about the “power of language,” we’ve learnt that words can really make an impact on you. I’d imagine that the words of people you hold in higher regard or trust to confide in have the chance to wield even greater influential power than the words of strangers. After all, your friends are people you may spend the most time with aside from family.
On another note, figuring out if a friendship has turned toxic and cutting off that person is a difficult task. Hindsight will have you bashing yourself for not realizing sooner. Oftentimes, you don’t truly experience a person’s flaws until you’ve spent a lot of time together. I’ve had one experience like this; it happened years ago, though. The silver lining could be that you’ve matured after that realization. I certainly learned to be a little more kind to myself afterwards.
I’m thankful for the friendships I’ve built up over the years! The people I hang out with now are people I’ve known for around eight years, now. As we’ve gotten older, though, there are many ways in which our paths have diverged, but ultimately, I believe we know nothing that can beat the power of friendship (❁´◡`❁)...I personally think the most beautiful kind of friendship is one where you can reconvene anytime several years later and chat away like no time had passed, but that’s just me thinking too much in the future.
So! What about your experience with friendship? How do you differentiate an acquaintance from a friend? How long have you known your current friends? Tell me about it!
Comments
First of all, I love that Genshin Impact comic. The two characters depicted in this comic definitely have an interesting relationship. I would think that they would see each other as “friendly” rivals. And by friendly I mean they would try to kill each other for fun and honor. From my perspective, Scaramouche sees Mona as a powerful obstacle who ruined his chances at killing the Traveler. Obviously he would be somewhat annoyed at this, amused even. Relating to the topic of friendship, I don’t think they would be an interesting set of “friends,” if you can even see them as that.
I liked the picture you included, and I thought it brought humor to your post. To answer your questions, I differentiate friends from acquaintances if I would make time to hang out with them in a setting where I don’t usually meet them(this typically means a setting that is not school-related). I believe it is easier to tell who your true friends are with time. I became closer with many people after we shared a class in school together because we were able to interact more often and we could talk about our shared interests.
I agree that the definition of friendship varies between people. I consider some people my friend, but I know that they might not consider me a friend. I used to be friends with some people that made me feel like I wasn't cool enough so I had to change myself, but as I got older, I decided to cut them off. This has been the best choice for myself and I'm happy that I'm friends with people who accept me now.
Similar to you, my mom have always given me the advice to make friends but also being clever with it. I noticed that I usually spend time with people I consider as friend, someone with similar interests or personalities as me. Wasting and spending time with those that you would like to relate to but just can't puts pressure on both sides and generally don't get as well. To answer your question the difference between an acquaintance and friend is that acquaintance is someone you work well with there always to help you while friends are people who care about you and share laughs and experiences.
To me, friendship is something I am super thankful for. Friends support you through your highs and lows and are there for you emotionally when your parents can’t understand you. To answer your question about how to differentiate an acquaintance versus a friend, it’s honestly quite simple. An acquaintance is someone you know from a class, a mutual friend, or any other one time circumstance. With acquaintances, you only spend time with them when you guys coincidentally bump into each other or just happen to be in the same place. But with friends, meeting up or spending time with them is intentional. I also really like your mom’s advice, by choosing people who are positive and helpful they can help us grow and mature!
Sincerely,
Faith Tong
Friendship is something that can make or break someone's decisions because those relationships are really important outside of the family. The main reason I go to school is because of my friends because it just makes the environment more fun and I will surely be missing that when I go to college. I have had many friends who came and gone because I switched schools every two years, but now I feel like I have reached the point where these friends that I have right now and going to stay with me forever. This ideology might change though.
Sincerely,
Mrinmayee
I completely agree with your mom on choosing your friends wisely. I wish I followed that advice when I heard it the first time. I would only make friends with my friend’s friends, and never really thought about if they were a good influence for me. I blindly made friends and I started getting into a lot of trouble and so much drama was started for no reason. Personally I have not have had “true” friendships nor long ones, but hopefully I get to make some this year!
I love friend is power! Friendship is magic for real. Personally, I try my best to be a good friend in a friendship so that if we do somehow drift, there are no hard or bad feelings between the two of us and that it is easier to talk to each other again in the future. I feel like friendships now are so much more complicated, especially in high school because drama is literally everywhere and can really divide groups. Although I have personally had drama with another, I hear so much of other people’s to be honest. Thus, I try my best to stay out of them.