Friends are those rare people who ask how we are and then wait to hear the answer.
Ed Cunningham
Friends are like an extended family, only they are often our same age and we actually like hanging out with them. However, a more defining trait of friends is that they are people we can discuss anything with. We can share our biggest secrets, fears and joys with them, laugh with them (sometimes even at them), and count on them to never turn their backs on us. Friends are people who offer us their unconditional support and guidance, without ever expecting anything in return. They may or may not have the same tastes, interests or opinions as us, but they always have our backs.
More often than not, we do not choose our friends. Sure, we can, and sometimes it works out well too. However, in most cases, our group of friends – real friends, that is – is shaped by life, or fate, as some people like to call it. The trials and tribulations of life also go a long way in helping us tell real friends from fake ones. After all, as clichéd as it might sound, a friend in need is a friend indeed.
Probably the best thing about friends is that they are above formalities and superficial concern. So long as they know that nothing is amiss in your life, they tend to retain their jovial and easygoing nature. However, the moment they sense that you are in a spot of bother, they go out of their way to offer unsolicited help. They keep asking you how you actually are, until you open your heart to them. That is why friends are often known as siblings from another mother. The well-known American film producer and former AFL player, Ed Cunningham, had once remarked: “Friends are those rare people who ask how we are and then wait to hear the answer.”