Friendship Definition
Maria Roldan
November 16, 2012
Honors English 101
Definition Essay
Mrs. Baker
Friendship
“Don’t walk behind me; I may not lead. Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend” said Albert Camus. People understand the concept of friendship differently, but there is one common ground for it- it is always built on a mutual sympathy, according to the Cambridge dictionary. Friendship can last for many years and grow stronger, but they can also end right away. No one knows the exact definition of friendship; however they do have their own way to tell if they have a friend. People say it’s hard to find a true friend- they are right because not everyone you know is your friend. Friendship is something important to me because I need someone to talk with. A friend to me is someone who is there for me no matter what, does not turn their back on me, they accept me for who I am, they care about me, I can trust them, we enjoy each other’s company, and we have fun together. Everyone needs a friend. Friends are like stress relievers, and they don’t judge, they see who we are and nothing else. I believe friendship is not perfect. There are always going to be flaws. According to the researched done in 2000 by Keith Davis, teenage friendships tend to grow hate or jealousy in between one another. This is when problems start to develop such as not being honest with each other. Another problem found in a research done in the 80’s was that opposite-sex friendships might not be considered a friendship at all. When a female and male are friends one of them starts to grow feelings, or they both grow feelings. That’s when the friendship turns into something emotional and sexual. It falls into the friends with benefits or the love category. There is a difference in between female and male friendships captured by Paul Wright in 1982. He describes women’s friendships as “face to face” and men’s as “side by side.” This indicates that women are
November 16, 2012
Honors English 101
Definition Essay
Mrs. Baker
Friendship
“Don’t walk behind me; I may not lead. Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend” said Albert Camus. People understand the concept of friendship differently, but there is one common ground for it- it is always built on a mutual sympathy, according to the Cambridge dictionary. Friendship can last for many years and grow stronger, but they can also end right away. No one knows the exact definition of friendship; however they do have their own way to tell if they have a friend. People say it’s hard to find a true friend- they are right because not everyone you know is your friend. Friendship is something important to me because I need someone to talk with. A friend to me is someone who is there for me no matter what, does not turn their back on me, they accept me for who I am, they care about me, I can trust them, we enjoy each other’s company, and we have fun together. Everyone needs a friend. Friends are like stress relievers, and they don’t judge, they see who we are and nothing else. I believe friendship is not perfect. There are always going to be flaws. According to the researched done in 2000 by Keith Davis, teenage friendships tend to grow hate or jealousy in between one another. This is when problems start to develop such as not being honest with each other. Another problem found in a research done in the 80’s was that opposite-sex friendships might not be considered a friendship at all. When a female and male are friends one of them starts to grow feelings, or they both grow feelings. That’s when the friendship turns into something emotional and sexual. It falls into the friends with benefits or the love category. There is a difference in between female and male friendships captured by Paul Wright in 1982. He describes women’s friendships as “face to face” and men’s as “side by side.” This indicates that women are
Cited: “Friendship Styles.” Encyclopedia of Women and Gender: Sex Similarities and Differences and the Impact of Society on Gender. Oxford: Elsevier Science & Technology, 2001. Credo Reference. 14 July 2008. Web. 05 November 2012. “Friendship.” Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Credo Reference. Web. 05 November 2012.