Being a real friend is a tremendous responsibility. You have to
be loyal, honest (but not too honest), sincere, reliable,
dependable, friendly (stands to reason really), pleasant, open,
sociable (not much point having friends if you’re not going to
be sociable, is there?), responsive, welcoming, and gracious.
Yo u a l s o h a v e t o b e f o rg i v i n g a t t i m e s , b e p r e p a r e d t o o f f e r
help, support, and sympathy. At the same time, you don’t want
to be taken advantage of or have the wool pulled over your
eyes. And you may have to be brutally candid at times and be
prepared to risk the friendship by being so. Yet equally there
are times you need to hold your tongue and keep your opinion
to yourself. They are your friends, not clones of you—they do
things differently. You have to be counselor, confessor, priest,
helper, companion, friend, confidant(e), and comrade. You
have to offer the friendship enthusiasm, dedication, determi-
nation, creativity, interest, passion, and drive.
And this is all what you have to do. What does your friend
have to do? Well, in an ideal world the same. If your friend
fails to do any of this, you will still carry on being her friend,
being forgiving, being supportive, and being there.
And I guess if you have to take anything away from this Rule,
the most important bit is being there. You are there when your
friend is going through it and not just there for the good
times. You will be there when your friend needs you in the
early hours, the dark days, the times of trouble and stress. You
will be there to hold her hand, let her cry on your shoulder,
lend her a Kleenex, pat her on the back and make her endless
cups of coffee. And you will tell them to cheer up, stop worry-
If You Are Going to Be a Friend,
Be a Good Friend