Reflections on Friendship

Mustafa Al Saeed

First of all, I would like to introduce what friends mean. Friends mean society, family, and life.

No matter in which way I make any friend I will be faithful to him.

Secondly, I have various best ways to make friends. I enjoy making friends in every area, school and country. I believe the aim of making friends is we help, also we respect each other. How we meet isn't so important.

Most of my friends are neighbors, from my school, sports club, friends of friends and family friends. However I do not have any problem to make friends using other ways, furthermore, I know some friends who I helped or they helped me.

I am still with friends who are respectful, generous, humble, faithful, sincere, dependable, and respect their and my parents.

I have many friends but our friendships have not been continued because some of them have died or and some of them are busy with their families or work.

I have never left a friend and my opinion a friend is a gift from God.

Finally I like to behave with people, as I like them to behave with me.

Making & Maintaining Friendships

Meiti Here Iotefa Stergios

I think that there is no best way to meet new friends. You can meet them anywhere and any time. Most often one meets friends at school or at work, places where there are lots of people. It is also possible to meet friends in a sports club or by organizing activities. The way most used by young people in order to do it is the Internet! Several sites enable people to meet and to make friends worldwide. I think that it is a really good idea and it also allows us to stay in contact with friends and family, and matters in the world! It's quick and efficient. I use it too and I'm sure that lots of students in the Language Centre also use it. It's also possible to make friends at a party or by the way of our friends. Pubs, bars and coffee shops are also known for meetings, because many people go there.

To maintain a friendship, I think that it must always be necessary to stay in contact, to be called from time to time or to exchange emails. However, for friends living in different countries, exchanging letters or speaking to each other online seems to be a good idea to prolong a friendship. I also think that doing activities with friends, such as going to the cinema, going shopping or having lunch together nurture our friendships and make sure they're long lasting. Having a party with friends also allows the support of friendly relations and at the same time, is also allows one to meet news friends. In my country, there is a party to gather all old students of a school to remember old times.

The Advantage of Meeting in the Flesh

Afnan Khadawurdi

I like forming new friendships especially since I came to New Zealand because there are a lot of international people from everywhere. As a result I can learn and I get to know plenty of information.

After I came here I wanted Arabic people to talk with and I felt homesick and strange in this country. Then I met a lot of Saudi girls who encouraged me and I felt nearly the same as in my country.

I like meeting friends in a public place such as in school, homes, gardens and university because I can see them and talk with them. I also can form ideas about them. On the other hand I don’t choose to meet new friends on line chatting on Skype or MSN because I can’t see them very well.

I really like friendships because sometimes we need someone to talk with or some advice about something.

Advice & A Warning

Chris (Ce) Dong

Friends play important roles in our lives. A proverb says 'One man is not good enough to live alone in the world.' Indeed, there are many things in life which we can't perform alone. We need friends’ help. It's great to have a memorable and eternal friendship but it's difficult to make a real friend. So we should learn more about how to find new friends and how to nurture and maintain our friendships.

Of course, we can make friends everywhere at anytime. For example, we can go to speed dating, join a reading group or even find friends though the Internet. However, I think the best place is school, where we are among a big number of boys and girls our own age, so it is easy to get to know each other in a short time. Besides, we can also make friends among the people who work with us in the community.

In order to make real good friends, the most important thing I think is that we should have common ambitions as well as the same interests and hobbies because it's hard to stay with a person who always disagrees with your ideas. In addition, we must be honest, noble-minded and kind-hearted in order to leave a favorable impression with others. And we mustn't lie to our friends. For me, when I was a child, I didn't understand what a real friendship meant. One of my best friends asked me the date to go back to school when we were on holiday. I told him the wrong date so he didn't go to school on time. Then the teacher asked his parents to come to the school. He was so angry and broke up with me. I hoped to say sorry to him but it was too late. I still regret that.

At the same time, we should avoid bad friends. A proverb says ‘A friend in need is a friend indeed.' Friends are people who willingly and readily help us when we are in trouble, and show sympathies for us when we are in misery. However, bad friends always do harm to us and they are dangerous to the people around us. What is even worse, they mar our friendships with good friends. So we should make friends wisely.

An Optimal Environment for Making Friends

Othman Al Ghamdi

I would like to talk about getting together. In my opinion, I see the best way to meet new friends is in school. I chose schools because they are the easiest place to get new friends and know them very well. There are many ways to get new friends but there is not enough time to meet them. It might be because of study or work. If someone asks me why I chose schools as the best way, I would say it is because I have met many of my best friends in schools.

At the University of Otago Language Centre I have made and got to know my best friend, called Ahmed Al Zahrani. I have known him since my first day at the Language Centre when I was looking for my friend Abdul Aziz in the common room. I think that reason is enough for me to respond when anyone asks me why I prefer schools as the greatest way to get the best friends.

I believe that the best way to maintain our friendships is to keep in touch with each other and try to help each other when anyone of us has got a problem. In addition, trying to not be angry when someone makes a mistake. I think these ways are the best ways to maintain our friendships and grow them.

Practical Advice on Nurturing New Friendships

Wayne (Weimin) Li

A friend, which is the most important thing in anyone’s life, represents honesty and support. Therefore, making friends is very important. Whether good friends or bad friends, both can affect the way we live.
With hi-tech developments, there are so many ways to find new friends or keep in touch with our old friends. As you know the way we usually use to communicate with people, are the telephone, writing a letter, the Internet and text messages. If you want to know which the best way to meet a new friend is, I can tell you this depends on different kind of people, who have their own personalities.
However, when you make a friend, if you are not concerned about this up and coming friendship, you're likely to lose this friend soon. So, what you should do after having made a new friend is having contact with them properly or doing something that shows you care about them. For example, if you want to attend an activity, you may call your friend and say ‘would you like to attend that activity with me?’ And you also can text them to say ‘How’s it going?’ Or you can send them some gifts as well. I think all the means above definitely work.
To tell the truth, I am not really sure how to maintain a relationship or to make it long-lasting, but personally, whatever the case is, doing your best for your friends is the key.

To Have A Friend Is To Have A Treasure

Araceli Munoz

Friendship is an important element of our social relations and our social environment. People usually find friends within the context that they move. In their school, in their neighbourhood, in their job, while traveling, on the Internet ... it’s possible to find friends everywhere.

In my case, I have made good friends at every time and in all places of my life. My friends mark the different phases though which I have passed during my life. I still keep in touch with some of my friends but others only remain for a while in my life and afterwards they only rest in my memory.

Many times, we fall out of touch when we lose some common thing that we shared with our friend: a place, a hobby, other friends … Sometimes time or distance doesn’t make it easy to keep our friendships, but, even so, some relations remain. We lose other friends forever. And some ones seem lost but we return to get in touch again after some time.

During my life I have learnt that being able to keep our good and old friends is sometimes more important than finding new ones. It can be easy to find new friends but keeping the friends that you already have is much more difficult. Maybe, if you want to keep your friends, the most important thing is allocating time for them.

But, what do we expect out of a friendship? Perhaps, we look for confidence, respect, sincerity, reciprocity, understanding or support, someone who will be with you when you need him and whom you will help when he calls for you. Or, maybe, we only try to find affection or companionship: somebody with whom we can speak about our problems, happiness or sadness and who listens to you both when you are right and when you are wrong. Or simply, we need to have friends in order to be happy and to enjoy good times, because, like the saying tells us “to have a friend is to have a treasure”.

However, we don’t expect the same things from all our friends. Not all friends have the same importance to us and we are not fond of each one in the same way. There are good, close and essential friends and there are more superficial relationships. And, sincerely, I believe that the former are the most important to keep.