Characteristics of a Real Friend Essay Example

“There are friends, there is family, and then there are friends that become family” - Anonymous. Friends that become family are a special type of friend to have. These friends are not just good friends, they are best friends, friends that are never going to leave and are going to be with you for life. Someone can only possess that type of friend if from the start of the friendship they obtain and display certain characteristics. A good and true friend is someone who is honest, forgiving, and loyal. 

To begin with, I believe that honesty is a key component for a wholesome friendship. Honesty builds trust, and no trust is like building a house with no foundation. At the base of all valuable qualities of friendships is honesty. These qualities include dependability, faithfulness, and overall more openness. Understanding and believing that everything said by the friend is honest and true is important, especially because it takes away any distrust and disbelief in a relationship. Friends should be helpful in ways that cannot even be understood, such as being able to pour out your heart to them and understand that what was said will never reach the ears of anyone else. All in all, honesty keeps a relationship healthy and fulfilling. 

Personally, I think forgiveness is the most vital characteristic for someone to have in order to have a proper, healthy, meaningful, and true friendship. Stephen Richards states, “A broken friendship that is mended through forgiveness can be even stronger than it once was.” Forgiveness is vital because whenever there is a mistake, action, or disagreement that affects a relationship, the friendship is incapable of being resolved or healed except through forgiveness. A bond with someone that is strong enough to make them go from not being just a friend but family must display forgiveness; because a part of being a family means that no matter what sins have been committed, going home welcomed is always an option. Forgiveness keeps a friendship from being destroyed.

Lastly, loyalty is an important attribute of a true friend. In order for a friendship to work, both people must trust and believe that the other will not talk behind their back, betray them, or let anyone else mistreat them. Without this quality in a relationship, everything could fall apart because without loyalty there is betrayal, trust broken, and the instability of knowing the friend will not always stick by the others side no matter what. Loyalty is like the glue that holds a friendship together. It is the final quality that can turn a friend into being even more special than just that; it makes them family. 

To conclude, honesty, forgiveness, and loyalty are all characteristics of a real friend. Having these attributes holds a friendship together and will end up bonding it even closer. The building of trust and love from these characteristics of a friend are very powerful and true. All these things in turn can lead to the discovery of a new relationship of being family rather than just friends.