Illustrate what it means to be a true friend

English Composition II Research Letter Proposal, Writing Assignment 7-A September 7, The Meaning of a True Friend One personally believes that a true friend could be gauged in terms of sharing strong bonds despite trials and difficulties that were encountered. It simply means that apart from sharing similar interests which initiated the friendship, in the first place; a true friend remains by one’s side especially in times of need and could be trusted with one’s life. In the current discourse, one would illustrate what it means to be a true friend and what one believes a true friend really is.
From personal experiences, people get attracted to others when they share the same hobbies, interests, and even preferences in life. As young children start establishing interpersonal relationships in schools or in local communities, the friends that are developed usually stem from sharing similarities: liking the same color; exemplifying similar favorites in food, in spending leisure time, and even in sharing similar physical traits or behaviors. Shy people usually bond with other shy individuals. Those who love sports bond together. People of the same cultural orientations usually are the first to talk to each other when situated in a large group of diverse racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
As people grow older, true friends are established beginning with bonds formed in high school and in college. It is during this time when friends start to do things together: go out to movies, eat out as a group, sleep in a friend’s house, do the homework together, and get to help each other work out personal, family, or academic challenges. The commitment formed becomes strengthened with investment of resources: time, money, and effort. By then, a true friend is believed to stick together through thick and thin; meaning, through happy times and through difficult times. Even when one is in a precarious situation, a true friend would lend a helping hand and assist in finding solution to one’s dilemma. It is as if the friend goes through the same challenges, weathers the same storms and eventually emerges victorious together. The journey of going through a rollercoaster of emotions is the true test of friendship.
In one’s lifetime, there had been different sets of friends that were apparently established. There are those who could be considered mere acquaintance and where very limited personal information is known of their lives. These were school mates or even members of the local community and extracurricular groups. One gets to know them by name and exchange congenialities but only on the surface and regular interactions remain on a purely professional basis.
Likewise, there are friends who have been regarded as close friends and friends for life. These friends know everything about one’s life in terms of likes and dislikes, preference and values, family experiences, love interests and relationships, and even deep dark secrets. True friends are those who remain loyal and keep one’s secret confidential and private. This means that one could confide anything to a true friend and would not be afraid that this would be divulged to anyone else. The actions of these friends coincide with one’s definition of a true friend: someone who sticks with me no matter what happens, it willing and able to lend a helping hand, someone who could be trusted, and someone who cherishes memorable experiences that were shared throughout our lives.