When I was in high school, I was always following behind my friends. This was mostly because I was never really interested in the things that they were, which, among others, were endless basketball games, the newest anime and breakdancing. In short, despite being friends with everyone in my group, I never felt like I fit in. However, there was one person among them who always went out of their way to come back to where I was.
Although we were worlds apart in interests and upbringing, we built one of the strongest and most important friendships that we maintain to this day. It is our friendship that I referred to when writing for this topic as it taught me the meaning and value of a friendship, with the most important takeaway being that a friendship meant companionship despite obvious differences and never pretending to be someone else in order to complete a list of prerequisites and be accepted by any group.
Drawing from this, in this edition of The Young Post, I asked two questions: What does friendship mean to you? What is its value? Through interviews and answers from three local high school students, I was able to gain a wider perspective.
A second home and family
On the topic, I interviewed two women in their thirties who have a considerably solid friendship. According to them, as they both live and work in Macau away from their families, friends are those who they can consider to be a second family and are among those who they can find another home in.
Moreover, whenever there are problems or certain dilemmas presented to them, friends would be the people who they can talk to about them. Whether it is for advice or attempting to move past situations such as sadness and heartbreaks, true friends can be the people who one can lean on and always count on.
A guide for when you go astray
Local fourth-year university student Victor Lam said that to him, friendship means having someone who you can be with, as well as someone who will stand with you when you are sad or in need of guidance. He said that as people can get lost in life, friends can act like a guide who can put you on the right path to where you need to go. Moreover, he also placed emphasis on choosing friends wisely, saying that it is “really important” because good friends can help someone become a better person and never put them in bad situations.
Though friends are important, he also said that he doesn’t think it is necessary to have a lot of friends as maintaining a good relationship, taking care of their feelings and giving time for everyone could prove to be difficult. “You can’t always do the same thing for everyone”, he added.
Perspectives from 3 high school students
The Foundation of everything
Colette Lei, Form 5 student
“In my opinion, friendship is a form of a human relationship that displays many types of affection. Friendship is the foundation of everything, even when it comes to lovers. Friendship is what allows us to move on knowing that there will be people by your side who support you. Friendship is where bonds are created or broken. Friendship is what keeps us alive and entertained in this dull, miserable world. It’s also where we as a whole, learn from mistakes and improve from them. This form of relationship allows our character development to strengthen and form an in depth meaning behind life. Without friendship, there wouldn’t be love.
“The value of friendship would be respect. Respect is what keeps the friendship, as respect goes both ways. Respect teaches us how to understand each other in a friendship. It teaches us how to forgive our past mistakes and how to strengthen the connection with each other. Another factor would be beliefs and religion, which brings along trust. In a friendship, or any form of human relations, beliefs and religion play a major role. Simply said, if it weren’t for friendship, the whole concept behind new beliefs, cultures and cultural identities, and religion wouldn’t exist. One’s own identity wouldn’t exist. Trust plays a big role in friendship since we believe that we can depend and rely on each other when needed.
“Most importantly, the appreciation of friendship is a significant value as well. Appreciation [aka gratitude] is: “Recognition and enjoyment of the good qualities of someone or something”. Factors like appreciation help us cherish the moments that could pass by generations. This all ties down to respect, as respect gives us appreciation for each other, having an open mind for new beliefs and religion, and many more”.
What do beds and friendships have in common?
Kristina Vallesteros, Form 6 student
“I believe that a huge part of friendship means being there for one another throughout the good and the bad times. Oddly enough, I think friendship and beds have a lot more things in common than one might imagine. To me, a friend is like the bed frame that supports me on days where my heart feels too heavy; the mattress that shares my joy and relief after a long day of hard work; the pillow that catches my tears on nights when I need to unwind and the blanket that not only protects me from the cold, but also brings me nothing but warmth and comfort. My favourite hello and my hardest goodbye others might say.
“The value of friendship is very important in our lives as it is something that heavily influences how you grow as a person. No matter if the friendship is short-lived or long-lasting, good or bad, there’s always something that we learn from it”.
Bringing out the best in you
Fernando Santos, Form 6 student
“Friendship means having a person who always remembers who you are and can lead you towards becoming the best that you can be. For me, that’s friendship.
“Everything that we care about has a value. Value does not just have to be monetary. It can come in other forms and I think the value of a friend means having someone who can make sacrifices and someone who you can make sacrifices for. If you can give your life for your friends, that’s a real friend. If you would die for that person, that’s a real friend. You may also say the same for people such as your wife, your brother and so on. A friend also is like a brother who is like a part of your family, a person who you want to protect and someone who you care about. Those are friends for me”.
Photos courtesy of Unsplash
