10.

3- Relationships with friends

1. How important is friendship to your age group?
Friendship is very important to my age group since it provides social support and promotes mental
health and wellbeing. Having friends is also very important in developing our social and emotional
development and plays a big part in our lives.

2. Give an example of a time when friendship was very important to you.

During year 1, I remember when I was bullied by a group of girls in my class. This was when I lost
many of my close friends who supported me due to the threats and claims the bullies had of me.
They provided false information about me and told lies which soon spreaded around the school. At
that time, I didn’t know what to do but was desperately seeking for support and was in need for a
friend. I was a shy kid and spent most of my time trying to hide and stay away from the bullies which
caused me to be socially awkward. This was when someone stood up for me, who soon (till today) is
one of my bestest friends. She knew I was innocent and was being frowned upon on and helped me
seek help by speaking to the teachers. She was the only one that hung out with me everyday and
supported me throughout. Soon, her friends soon turned to me and we formed a close friendship
group, whom we are inseparable till this day.

3. What different kinds of friendships have you had in your life?

Throughout my life, I have made many friends. Not all have lasted a while though. I remember
having super close friends in primary school but soon drifted off ever since I moved schools and
haven’t been in touch since. Most of the friendships formed in my life were small since I don’t often
like to be in big friendship groups.

4. What things can make it difficult to form friendships?

Making friendships can be difficult for many reasons. Some being not thinking you fit in with the
group of friends, being shy, lack of social skills, not acknowledging that you actually need people to
be with you or just being afraid to reveal yourself and talk to others. Forming friendships can also be
hard since many people have different personalities and not everyone thinks the same. One of the
reasons friendship is hard to make for me is that I think many people are already in a closed group of
friends and I may not be fitting along with them.

5. What personal qualities help to make friends?

The most important qualities to help make friends are: loyalty, acceptance, honestly, non-
judgemental, respectful, trustworthy and kindness. These qualities I think are the basis into forming
good relationships with others and is generally what friends look for in each other.

6. What changes in friendship have you experienced?

Friendships are quite complicated and can be fraught with conflict and tension at times. There are
countless reasons why even some of the more enduring friendships come apart throughout life.
Friendships can change when two people grow apart from each other. This can happen when friends
meet and get close during certain periods of their lives because they are sharing common
experiences together. This may include growing up in the same area, going to school together, being
on sports teams, etc. As we grow and mature, friends that once “fit” no longer do and we move
on. Throughout my life, I have experienced these situations in which many of my closest friends
don’t get along anymore because of changes in high school and we barely contact each other.

7. What have you learned about friendship through the friends you have now?
Through the friends I have now and what I’ve experienced in life, I’ve learnt that friendship is truly
one of the best gifts in life and having a friend is truly rewarding. Making friends isn’t always so hard
and true friendships involves kindness, generosity and being accepting of others.