How To Be A Reliable Friend Essay, Research Paper

The ability to build a satisfying interpersonal relationship and to get along with other peoplecontributes to our mental and emotional health. Research has suggested that signs of emotional wellbeing include respect for others, concern for others, and a realistic and positive attitude towardsrelationships. We sometimes have to learn how to recognize these signs in our friends. Rewardingfriendships are highly valued. Our need for friendships and our dependence on our friends increaseas we get older. Maintaining a good friendship is hard work. Building a good friendship is like building ahouse; first you lay a firm foundation and then work up from there. Like most structures if youdon t look after it, it will disintegrate . In order to maintain a good friendship one must have certainqualities or characteristics: humor, being able to laugh at one another s jokes; honesty, being totallyhonest is the true basis of a friendship; openness, being able to share genuine and frank feelingsis thebasis of trust. There are many different types of friends. You have family friends (siblings, cousins, andparents), you have school friends, and neighborhood friends. What are the steps to becoming a reliable friend? The first step is to meet the person. There are many times when you might meet a newfriend. You may have just moved to a new town or maybe somebody just moved to your town.Meeting new friends can be scary and exciting at the same time. When you meet this person it isimperative to be yourself; if you don t, the person is not liking you for you but for who he or shethinks you are. If a person likes you for you it will be much easier to get along with him or her.Being honest is the way to go. The next step is to learn what your friend likes to do and tell him or her what you like to

do; if you both don t share the same interests you can compromise; if you do like the same things,the better your friendship will be and will become. The third step to becoming a reliable friend is to listen to what your friend has to say. Whatyou think and what he or she thinks may not always be the same so if you have conflicting thoughtsyou have to listen to one another. Sometimes your conflicting thoughts can cause fights and/orarguments between friends. Disagreeing is natural and arguments can arise from just aboutanything, but there is always two sides to every argument. You must listen to both sides becauseyour friend may make you see a point that you otherwise wouldn t have noticed. Also if you getinto a fight you must resolve the fight by talking things out throughly. If the argument is not workedout and some things are still left unsaid, it can really hurt your friendship. After the argument, if you do realize that you are wrong make sure you apologize. Never beafraid to admit when you are wrong. Sometimes saying I m sorry is hard but if you value yourfriendship you ll swallow your pride and say it. Another step to becoming a reliable friend is to share your thoughts and feelings. If youkeep your feelings bottled up, your friendship may not last long. It is this sharing of your thoughtsand feelings that will cement you friendship. No matter where you are in the world your friendshipsbond will stay strong. While it is true that people often stray from the qualities and characteristics mentionedabove, a truly reliable friend will find a way to make things right. After all is said and done, if youdon t have all of these qualities but you do have some of them, you will still be a reliable friend.