Friendship

For The Exclusive,

Nehal Naik

@nehal.003

Friendship. Is it merely a defining term for a relationship or the means for defining a relationship?

Well, there are friends and there is family, and then there are friends that become family.

To some, friends might not be the most important thing but to some they go beyond family. To elaborate a bit, some people prefer their own personal solitude. And to be honest, rightly so!

For a whole variety of reasons but mainly encompassing the fear of being disappointment, the constant expectations and the need for give-and-take. Naturally, if one find themselves afraid that they can’t live up to these expectations or think that others will let them down, then they just tend to avoid getting involved in the whole idea of friendship. To them it’s more of a task to be accomplished than a resort for solace.

Some individuals feel that their family is enough and they do not feel the need to seek a relationship outside of their family circle because they are happy with the connection and support that they get from that very circle . Now at the same time there are also another set of individuals, and might I add the larger ton of the population, to whom friends mean, well quite literally — everything!

They increase your sense of belonging and purpose, gives you that pump of energy to boost your happiness and reduce your stress. They improve your self-confidence, your self-worth.

While they give you the reality check that you need, they also help you cope with the many ups and downs of life. You know what they popularly say - through thick, through thin!

To back this up, research has shown that friends play a significant role in promoting your overall health. Adults with strong social connections have a reduced risk of many significant health problems, including depression, high blood pressure and an unhealthy body mass index (BMI). In fact, studies have also found that older adults who have meaningful relationships and social support are likely to live longer than their peers with fewer connections.

Right from being a small toddler to growing into an adult individual, friendships play a rather crucial role in moulding our personality and the way we perceive things around us and look at life. They give character to our life experiences. As the saying goes, “Each of our friends mirrors a rejected or acknowledged trait in us", truly means something.

A person is acquainted with many people in their life. However, the closest ones become our friends and somehow those friends eventually turn into family.

For me personally  the term friendship or the term friend holds a lot of significance. My friends, they walked into my life most unexpectedly but today, I have reached a point in life where I can count on them no matter what. Over the years, they have grown to become my family. These are connections deep rooted and meaningful. The kind that cannot just fade. The kind that stand the test of time.