what's special about friendship?

They say that friends are reflections of who and what we are that’s why an old adage gives a metaphor about friendships that says “The best mirror is an old friend.” This quote actually is trying to prove the great influence that our friends have on us. Undoubtedly, friends are central to our lives, have special concerns for us, as well as moral concerns that they deal with in their life lessons. Our friends, most often than not, contribute in the carving of the persona in us.

What’s with friendship that we keep on turning back to them? What’s with the memories we have had with our friends that we keep reminiscing about? What’s with our friends that we treasure so much? What’s with our experiences that we value so dearly notwithstanding the pains and hurts, broken hearts and failures? Too often, we remember all the laughter and fun inside and outside the classroom more than those moments of embarrassments when our three-eyed teacher caught us cheating during an ambush quiz, if not, a vigilant maestro caught red-handed the not-so-obvious-naughty guys peeping in the girls’ toilet. These are just few of the many craziness, playoffs and fun that some of us may have experienced during our high school days. They are simply unforgettable. Though, at times we tend to have selective retention, that is, we only choose to remember those beautiful memories and experiences, and remember the wonderful people who have been good to us and deliberately shun away from our memories the lurking images of those classmates and schoolmates who were unpleasant and mean to us…well, for a very good reason, we ought not to forget them. The more we actually deny their existence, the more we admit the impact they have left in us thus admitting as well that they have really been part of our lives and most specifically have become great influence in the molding of ourselves. Partly, we are what we are now because of them. Even if we say we hate them, we should still be thankful for the chance of meeting them and the chance of knowing them because consequently, through them we were able to compare the beauty of friendship and life. Life will never be as beautiful as it is without them. It means we’ve got no choice but to love the unlovable and accept the unacceptable…no matter what we say, they are still our friends in various degrees…

How many times did we create names for our favorite and not-so-favorite teachers? We call them names which they themselves never knew it was them we were referring to. How many times did we make fun of our teacher’s faces and mimic their manner of walking, talking and even their expressions? This may be kinda absurd but it’s true. We secretly laughed when they were furious at us and shook off boisterously when we were reprimanded for a mistake. But don’t these and our friends play a great role in our life?

They’re there to defend us and conceal our foolishness. We go home late at night and tell our parents we were invited by a friend over (katong paborito nga friend sa ginikanan) for a dinner but the truth is, you were out in a drinking spree. Or you connived with him / her to tell your parents that you need money for an important school contribution but which was actually intended for a group outing, a just-plain-bonding with peers (tsk tsk..tsk..dautan! pero tinuod…).Although, afterward, we were always regretful for having done that to our parents especially when we think of being done the same by our children (hahaha, diha na dayon…). Now, we laugh at these foolishness. These are some experiences that one will never regret having gone through because he / she can laugh at it every time he remembers all these…this is, what they say, sometimes you have to be naughty in life so that you have something to laugh about and make you smile when you get older. Pure madness! Well, it’s not just simply about the experience, it’s about the friends who have made those experiences worthwhile and worth remembering. In other words, they spiced it up to make our life scrumptious!

Friendships are a type of interpersonal relationship that is found among a few that we can actually consider as friends. They are central to our lives and are there through thick and thin. Friendship is a springboard to any other loves and any other relationships and having a special kind of friendship is a great way to express one’s admiration for another’s friendship.

Friendship is actually a kind of relationship which allows us to express our skill in picking the right choices in life. It helps and teaches us to find a balance in the relationship of give and take and building trust between the two.

Accordingly, high school life is the best experience one could ever have in life and the best time of gaining the right and genuine friends. They will stick with you through thick and thin. Well, I just have proven that because after what seems like eternity, despite distance and silence, my high school friends are still here, and have not changed at all. Friends are really friends regardless of time and space. They can never be measured on the frequency of togetherness but in the genuineness of the heart.