"A friend loves at all times and a brother is born for a time of adversity."

Friendship is one thing necessary for a healthy life. Everyone, ranging from the quiet, shy introvert to the outspoken extrovert, needs a friend. Friends are the support system every human longs for whether they realize it or not. The truth is, people need other people but sometimes those people end up taking advantage of you. These are not friends, these are people that use you disguised as friends. True friends are undeniably somewhat hard to find, but when you do find them realize how truly valuable they are.

A true friend is made up of a genuine care and compassion for you. It is someone who, in fact, loves you at all times. They have your best interest at heart. This means, not only through your mistakes, they still see and value you as a person but they are also there when you need them. They are there not only when it is convenient for them but better yet, when it is the most inconvenient for them. A friend is someone who helps you grow and learn from your mistakes, not someone who tears you down when you make them. A friend is someone who may not always remember your birthday or talk to you every day but would be there in a heartbeat if you needed them. They don't just hang out with you, text you or laugh with you, they genuinely care about your well-being and have the purest intentions at heart.

The truest friends that I have ever had has always been the ones that I do not talk to all the time but know that if I needed something, they would be there. Those friends never have me worried that they were talking behind my back or using me for other things. The truest friends I have had are the ones who are not perfect but they try. It is as simple and profound as that. A friend that goes out of their way to try to do things for you simply because they care for you is a real friend. They are not intending to get something out of it but rather just to see you succeed and be happy. It doesn't matter what I wore, what car I drove or what my house looked like, true friends didn't care and vice versa.

However, the thing about a good friendship is, it work both ways. My mom always told me, to have a friend is to be a friend. It is cliché and it is simple but it holds much truth. Compromise and equal effort are what make a friendship last. To have a friend is to be a friend and to be a friend is to love.

To those who may not have many friends or many good friends ask yourself if your intentions are pure and your heart is in their best interest; remember that the quality of friends you have is always worth more than the quantity of friends you have.