Friends are very important in our lives. Friendships are easily formed when we are young and do not demand too much out of it. According to studies and research, humans tend to form the highest number of friendships at kindergarten and primary level. However, we tend to have less friends as we grow older and wiser. This is because we realize there are good friends and bad ones.

              The saying that a friend in need is a friend indeed is very appropriate in this scenario because good friends are those who are reliable and trustworthy. At a younger age, our demands are not too high regarding friendships as we rely mostly on our parents, siblings, and relatives for important things. The friends we formed at this age are merely considered playmates rather than allies and companions. Therefore, our expectations of them are not high.

              More serious friendships are formed when we enter puberty and achieve a certain level of maturity. This allows us to make friendships with those who share the same interests or passion, as well as similar morals or values. This is when the term “close friend” or “best friend” actually means something. It means something deeper and more personal to both people in a friendship because of how our brain matures as we grow older and we come to realize how important it is to have friends. Good friends should truly care about you and support you through anything. Friendships like these can increase your sense of belonging and purpose, boost your happiness, and reduce stress. But, this isn’t the case for every friendship. 

To recap what I said, when young, our friendships don’t really mean that much, and as we grow older, friendships tend to get more serious and personal. But, we also start learning that not every friendship we make with someone is what we think. Sometimes we make friends that don’t really care about us or just only contact us when they need us for something. They aren’t loyal, they aren’t trustworthy, and your friendship with the person isn’t compatible. These friends are what people like to call “fake friends”. Friendships like these can ruin your mental health, damage your self esteem, raise your stress levels, and can even cause depression. Nobody wants a friendship like this.

Friendships clearly mean something different to us when we’re younger compared to when we’re older, but even so, friendship is important. We all need someone to lean on and have our backs no matter what. Someone to appreciate us for our strengths, and even our weaknesses. Someone to make us feel like we belong somewhere and that we have a purpose in this life. Friendships can affect our health for the better, but also for the worse. It just depends on who you acquaint yourself with, so be careful on who you do. You never know what that person might have in store for you.