Life Is Better With Friends

The phrase 'no man is an island' might just be one of the most well-known and admittedly overused sayings in history, but one cannot deny that it is, well, true. That's the reason why seemingly everyone wants to be popular, or why hermits often become senile and eccentric after an unhealthy time spent alone in a mountaintop somewhere. Like it or not, we all need friends to kill time with in this everyday journey we take, also known as life.

It's instinct, to say the least, that makes one kid approach another on the playground on the first day of school and shyly say "Hi, I'm Gerard. What are you doing?" The other would have a choice to either smile at the stranger, explain his game, and start a friendship that may end in twin sister wives and matching headstones, or stick his tongue out and purposefully ignore the other, opting to be the meanie. But then again, children don't really think about these profound outcomes and would probably just accept that new playmate without a second thought. Humans simply crave, or more than that, need companionship, be it someone to share a PB and J sandwich with or to go to when you need a loan.

But despite this nature that may have been implanted in our brains the moment we are conceived, why are some people still lonely, betrayed, bitter, or all of the above? Of course, like all good things, friendships need trust, common interests, and just a feeling of getting along or camaraderie in order to build lifelong bonds, but it is also easily severed by one seemingly harmless lie or shattered promise. This may sound cheesy, but friendship, like a flower, needs to be taken care of for it to loom into something beautiful, precious, and worth keeping.

Life may be hard, but without a phone number to dial in the middle of the night when you're in a suicidal mood, or someone who'll split his chocolate chip cookie with you when you're hungry and broke, it would be more than a miracle if any of us would survive.