Friends are defined as the person, or a group of persons with whom someone is closely associated, has a bond of affection, regardless of sexuality or status. Or, it can be an associate, someone a person just recently met. As long as that person is not hostile, and as long as there is an association, a fellowship, or a partnership with that individual, that person is considered a friend. Rosella Calauti’s Friends: Here…There…Everywhere!!! is a book about building friendships and learning about the importance of having friends in life. The author crafted the story beautifully about the friendship between Brandi, Salvatore, Lee, Lori, and Erika, how they would spend time playing together, and at the same time looking out for another. The book is not only visually appealing to its readers, both the young and the adult alike, but it also sends out the message on why friends are essential in a person’s life.
Why is it good to have friends?
Laughing almost always and all the time is what comes to mind when people think about friends. It could also be those sad times, and when someone consoles the sad or the depressed person. Either way, friends are those persons who are there for each other during happy or sad times. As the saying goes, “no man is an island,” and each person needs someone to get through life with. But why friends? What makes friends an essential part of a person’s life? Why is it good to have friends? Why is it important to create friendships?
Perhaps the number one reason friends are important is that having friends helps reduce stress. Stress can come in different forms. It can be work-related, relationship-related, school-related, financially related, etc. Any kind of stress, whether in small or large doses, has a negative impact on a person’s overall health, especially if that stress piles up and catches up with the person. If a person is stressed, they get annoyed and irritated easily, depressed, anxious, and if not properly addressed, develop a more severe case of mental health problems and could also lead to other health problems such as digestive problems, heart problems, insomnia, high blood pressure, and so on.
Having a healthy relationship with friends helps reduce stress in life. Sharing a laugh is one reason people make friends with each other, and it is the act of laughing that minimizes or lessens the adverse effects of stress. Laughing provides an emotional and physical release that loosens those taught muscles and nerves stemming from the tension coming from a stressful environment and increases the production of endorphins, a health-enhancing hormone.
Another reason why it is good to have friends is because it promotes a higher sense of overall well-being. Well-being is when a person is healthy, happy, and comfortable with their state in life. It usually includes and promotes positive emotions such as contentment, happiness, joy, excitement, and calmness. Belonging to a group that shares your passions in life or shares the person’s feelings and empathizes with them increases their sense of well-being. Having someone to talk to, someone who relates, someone to share with is enough to promote a sense of calmness and an overall feeling of peace.
Personal development is also another reason why it is vital to have friends. From the time of infancy, a person is influenced by the people that they are surrounded with. A person forms their habits, likes and dislikes, taste, and appreciation for culture depending upon the culture and habits of the people they are exposed to most of the time. Ensuring that a person has a good and healthy choice of friends is essential because whatever they do, whether good or bad, will always have an unconscious effect on them that will also reflect outwardly in their actions later on in life. Good friends also help support healthy choices in life, and they also help boost the other person’s self-confidence.
There are many other reasons why having and keeping friends is important. The significance of friendship cannot be undermined. The kind of friendship a person has can also make or break a person’s life, that’s why choosing and being with the right group of friends is also equally important. At the end of the day, as cliché as it sounds, but nevertheless true, friends do bring color and meaning to a person’s life.
The Damsel’s Files 