There are basically three kinds of important friendships one can have in life, according to (Hein and Hugh, 2004) These classes of friends are classified according to how well you know them and how well they know you;
- Acquaintances.
- Guest friends.
- Best friends
An acquaintance is someone whose name you know, who you see every now and then, who you probably have something in common with and who you feel comfortable around (Hein and Hugh, 2004). Acquaintances could be friends that you might have met them during your academic carrier but you might have never talked to them outside school. These school acquaintances are nice people to talk to, but there is never an effort to do anything more than that and they go their way but you a times meet with them. They form important part you in life. These friends are good because you just talk to them and then they go on their merry way.
These acquaintances are the people who you can invite them into your home and share things with them but they are people you cannot share your personal life with. They are friends whose actions you may not understand well because you don’t know much about them. You normally don’t miss them when they are elsewhere. It is also this type of friends that give you the most amount of aggravation. Since most of the time you are placed in a position where you have to act friendly, such as school or workplace, you would not normally tell an acquaintance when he or she is doing something funny, this is why (Hein and Hugh, 2004) refer to this type of friends as “pest friends.”
The second category is the guest friend. These are social friends. They are friends you interact for social purpose. They don’t have much impact on our lives but you become friends to them to gain one or two things from them. They are friends whom you meet in clubs or when carrying your business or even in the field while doing some extra curricula activities like playing football or athletics. They are friends who knows you only for a reason and don’t have much impact on your life. Keep in mind that guest friends, usually you don’t converse about anything substantial or deep such as their desires or fears. Usually this kind of friends toy to keep the topic of conversation happy and light. You still enjoy going/hanging with them but when the tough gets going they are not there for you.
Lastly the most vital group of friends are the best friends. The best friend is someone you love. Not that you are “in love” with, but you care about them and you think about them when they are not there (Hein and Hugh, 2004). A best friend is someone you can trust not only with huge things even the little things as well. Someone whom you know he will always be there for you through kick and thin and will never betray you. Someone who is closer than your family and you can tell anything to. A best friend is someone who you can go without talking to for long periods of time but when you finally do talk it is just like the last time yell spoke. A best friend is supportive and compassionate. A best friend is someone who will not always tell you what you want to hear, but what you need to hear. They are someone who is honest, but gentle and can spare feeling with telling a lie. Most importantly they are people who will be there for you forever and will comfort you when you are hurt and made mistakes.
References
Hein, D. and Hugh, E. (2004): Farrer on Friendship, Sainthood, and the Will of God: The Practical Theology of Austin Farrer. New York and London, pp. 119–48.