Relationships
Written by Riley Ervin
“Family and friendships are two of the greatest facilitators of happiness.” –John C. Maxwell
As a teenager, the relationships with your family and friends are very important. Even if you get in a fight with your mom she will always love and support you no matter what. A lot of friends come and go while you’re in high school but eventually, you will find some really close friends that will always be there for you through some of the tough times.
For kids, it is important to have the best relationship with their family as possible. Your family are the people that you can always count on, they’re always there for you no matter how much you argue or disagree on things. You know you can always lean on for support. Parents are the people that would come pick you up in the middle of the night from a friends house because you got scared during a sleepover, they’re the people who drove you around everywhere you wanted to go for 16 years or more. Your siblings are your built-in best friends and you should stay as close as possible to them because they can turn a horrible day into a good one quickly. Your family will be the most important people in your life and they make your life worth living.
When you are a teen it is hard to make friends, especially if you’re just starting high school. When you first start high school you no longer know all of the people in your grade and making new friends in your classes can be really difficult if you’re not very outgoing. Having a good relationship with your friends as a teenager is really hard, mostly because of all of the drama that stems from having a big group of friends. When you move from middle school to high school you gain and lose a lot of people. Friendships are really important to have in high school because when you’re in school you need people to hang out with and sit by at lunch. I feel that as a teenager, having friends is really important because not having anyone would be extremely boring and lonely. In high school lot of kids happiness stems from memories with their friends. Because of good friends, high school can be one of the best times of a your life. Having a good relationship with your others has a lot of benefits other than happiness. Having a strong relationship with friends can improve self-esteem, ability to manage stress, and can provide a sense of belonging. When you make close friends you should keep them as close as possible because you will always have someone to make the bad times good and the good times even better.
One of the most important things in life is family and having a good relationship with them because friends and boyfriends/girlfriends come and go but family is forever. Having a good relationship with your family means that you have someone that you can count on, who has the same struggles as you. To keep a good connection with them you should always have respect for each other. A lot of teenagers don’t realize how important family is, they get frustrated and yell at their mom and a few hours later everything is fine. Your family is always going to understand your struggles and help you through it. Even though they all might embarrass you sometimes you should always appreciate them, because you’re never going to forget that one time that your mom started singing really loud to the music in a restaurant and everyone was staring at you guys, or the time your brother farted in an ice cream shop and even the person who worked there said something about the smell. The memories that you make with them are special. It is important to have a good relationship with everyone in your family because you’re stuck with them so you might as well get along.
“Friendship is one of the hardest things in the world to explain. It’s not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything” -Muhammid Ali
The meaning of true friendship is when you think of the other person’s well-being to be just as important as your own. True friendship is forgiving, honest, and humorous. Friends help deal with stress, influence you to make better life choices, and they can even help with your mental health. If you have a strong relationship with your friends you are less likely to have symptoms of depression. According to Aristotle, a Greek philosopher there are 3 types of friendships. Friendships of utility, Friendships of pleasure, and friendships of the good. Friendships of utility are where people are friends because they both benefit because of it, like a classmate. Friendships of pleasure happen when people become friends because of the enjoyment that it brings to both people. Friendships of the good are the most valuable friendships that you will have but they are the hardest to find, they are based on appreciation and respect for each other. The other two types of friendships will most likely fade, but the friendships based off of mutual respect and honesty are usually very long lasting. As a high school student, you will gain and lose a lot of friends, and you will have trouble finding a group of true people. You know that you have true friends when they accept you no matter what and you can accept them no matter what as well. When you find close friends you will never get tired of hanging out with them, you could be with them all day and still want to have a sleepover the same night.
Friends and family are so important because they are the people that pick you up every time that you’re down and they will always be there for you. The memories that you make with them will last a lifetime.
