What does friend mean to you?

maleficent

maleficent

0
This ended up being a raging debate elsewhere on the web and ended up being quite interesting... The term friend gets tossed about a lot and i really wonder what it means to a person - the dictionary has some different defintions of it:

  1. A person whom one knows, likes, and trusts.
  2. A person whom one knows; an acquaintance.
  3. A person with whom one is allied in a struggle or cause; a comrade.
For myself -the first one is the definition I'd use - I know i"m a tough egg, but for me an acquaintance is not a friend -it's an acquaintance - they might be a buddy or a pal - but unless that trust factor is there -it's not a friend...

For me to call someone a friend it's truly a compliment... because it means I trust them and would absolutely walk into fire for them... If someone calls me a friend - I would generally consider that a compliment because it meant that they trusted me - but if I haven't earned their trust - I don't see how that'd possible... Buddy or Pal maybe but not friend...

So what's a friend to you?
 
I have a hierarchy of friends.

The closest, which consists of 7 guys I would jump in front of a bus for.

Obviously I trust them.

Aside from them, I have a huge circle of friends. I guess you could say I'm a friendly and trusting person. I am until you give me a reason not to. IRL, I like to give people the benefit of the doubt.

It's worked well too. People always say, "I don't know anyone who has maintained friends like Steve's group." I know I never worry about someone being there for me.

A friend to me is someone who would give me the shirt off his/her back if I was in need and who expects the same from me.

A friend is someone who is in my phone list on my cell, lol. Stupid, but true.

Most importantly, a friend to me is someone who helps me see a side of myself that I wouldn't ordinarily see. They almost become part of me as they establish an 'aura' or emotion I feel each and every time I'm around them. Not sure if that makes sense.... but ya.
 
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:) I like this topic! I have a couple left but a BUNCH on here!
When ya get married settl;e down and do the family thing some
seem to disapere :confused: even tho I try to stay in contact.

A friend to me is::
Someone you trust (obviously)
someone who's there for ya through up's and the down's
someone you feel comfy taLking to
someone who likes ya for you and you can be yourself around :)
 
A friend is....

I have several hierarchies of friends as well.

There are:

Soul-friends. These are people who touch your life and heart, folks whom you might not see in 20 years but can still catch up immediately when you come into contact again, people who resonate on the same frequency as do you. These are folks for whom you'd storm the gates of hell.

Good friends. People who care about you and vice versa. Spending time with them is a positive experience; if they disappeared you'd try to find out what happened to them/help them out.

Aquaintances. You know these people exist, you're neutral/vaguely friendly with them. If they disappeared you wouldn't really care.

That being said, I think I have 3 or so soul friends, a number of good friends, and bunches of aquaintances.

Barbara
 
but would you call an acquaintance a friend? they are just that -acquaintances - the title friend actually means something to me - i know it's just a word -but - it's an important one -to me..
 
An acquaintance I do not consider a friend. I'm friendly towards them.... but I wouldn't call them a friend.

For instance, I have a lot of acquaintances I know through mutual friends. I know that they are still acquaintances though, b/c I'd feel strange calling them out of the blue to grab a bite to eat or the like. That's a good metric to me. I mean, I can talk to pretty much anyone.... but would I be comfortable being alone with you.

Certainly that's only one metric, but ya get my point.
 
maleficent said:
but would you call an acquaintance a friend? they are just that -acquaintances - the title friend actually means something to me - i know it's just a word -but - it's an important one -to me..
Click to expand...

No, acquaintances are just that - folks with whom I am acquainted. They exist, therefore they are...but they really don't impact me or mine.

Friends go beyond that.

Best wishes,

Barbara
 
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