A good friend has to have many qualities. Friends have to have honesty, humor, empathy, and generosity. Friends should be trustworthy, supportive, loyal, selfless, non-judgmental, forgiving, dependable, and respectful.
It’s good if friends have honesty because an honest friend stands with you at every stage of life. Being honest with your friends and them being honest with you is key to an everlasting friendship. Honesty in friendship allows beautiful friendships to grow and emerge. Being honest is not only about solving issues or problems. We should all be honest and true to our friends about things they are good at, what we like about them, etc. Being honest doesn’t always have to involve issues and problems. You can be honest about other things too.
A friend doesn’t have to have a great sense of humor, but if they do it’s always great. Having a friend that can make you laugh is great. Having a friend like that makes life all around better. It helps to have one especially if you’re having a not-so-good day. All it takes is a friend making you laugh and then your day instantly gets a little better. I have this one friend and he never fails to always make me laugh.
Another good thing a friend should have is empathy. Feeling understood and heard is a human need. We all want the feeling of being understood and heard. It’s how we all connect, help, and support one another. Empathy helps us get in touch with our feelings and gives us an emotional understanding of ourselves and others. I have many friends that show me empathy when I go to them when I’m struggling with something or just need to talk.
Now, a quality that is important for friends to have is generosity. Being generous and giving is important. When we give to a friend, we don’t only make them feel closer to us, but it also makes us feel closer to them. I love being generous to all my friends. For birthdays and certain holidays, I always get gifts and give them to my friends. It makes me just as happy as it makes them. Being generous doesn’t have to mean using money to get someone something all the time. You can be generous through your time you spend with friends, the help you give your friends, etc. I always make sure to be generous in every way.
Friends should have the quality of also being trustworthy. It is always important for friends to be trustworthy. Trust allows us to feel safe with friends to share pretty much anything. This is one of the most important qualities to have in a friendship. Trust requires quite a few things. It requires that we keep our promises and show dependability, honor, and respect. The friends we can really trust happen to be true friends. I’m glad I have a small circle of people whom I can trust.
Friends should definitely be loyal to you. When you know a friend of yours is loyal, they are reliable. You know you can trust them, and they will always have your back no doubt. Loyalty is what sets your true friends apart from any others.
Another quality I look for in a friend is supportiveness. Friends should always be supportive in good times and bad. A supportive friend is an important kind of friend to go through life with. A supportive friend is there for you 24/7 and is willing to walk through literally anything with you. Those friends are dependable. They won’t follow you wherever you go, but they will help you identify pros and cons of certain situations and decisions. They will also let you know if they don’t agree with something you’re doing. That can help because it can steer you in a different direction. They’ll do their best to stand by your side whenever you need a friend.
Friends should be selfless. Acting selflessly towards each other can help make us feel good and form feelings of gratitude. Through acting selflessly, we bond with each other each time we help each other out.
A key quality to have in a friendship is the quality of being non-judgmental. Friends where you never have to worry about trying to be a certain way around them is great. You can be 100% yourself around your friends and they won’t judge a thing. My small group of true friends I have right now don’t judge me. They love me for me. They look past my disability. If I say or do something weird, which sometimes I do, they will take it, and then a minute later they will let it go and we will move on with the conversation.
Another key quality for friends to have is forgiveness. Forgiving in a friendship is pretty important. Whether it was a friend that hurt you or vice versa, forgiving them can help you grow in character and help you become a better person. Forgiving can help repair the friendship as well if some damage has been done to it. Forgiving can aide assistance towards the one who acted unjustly. Forgiveness is what extends friendship.
As you can see, there are a lot of qualities I look for in a friend. Not everybody is perfect and will have all those qualities, and that is okay. At the end of the day, what truly matters in a friendship is if they are a good person. If they are a good person and treat you with respect, you’re good.
I’m very fortunate and lucky to have a group of friends that love me, care for me, respect me, and won’t ever judge me. They all know how grateful I am for all of them.
Located in Alabama on Lake Martin, Camp ASCCA offers campers a wide variety of traditional recreational and educational activities with a unique design for accessibility.
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