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More than one person has heard the phase ‘We’re friends though thick and thin.’ However this isn’t always factual. Friends get into arguments and separate. Others go on different paths. Even with this, someone can be a friend when it counts. And sometimes there are just people who need one person in life. In this essay I’ll tell you what it means to be a friend when it counts giving you examples from my experiences with friends.

To be a friend when it counts means just that. It means to help someone in the hard times. The times where it takes a little more to stay on your feet. The times where you need that one thing to get though the day where the world’s seeming to cave in. Like a smile or a simply “Hi! Are you okay?”. Maybe they need that one person to help them do what they have to do to help themselves, to care if they’re alive. To be there when a person needs you the most, even when you haven’t talked a while…or never spoke to the person at all.

There are millions of people in the world who have problems with alcoholism, addictions and depression. We’re all human and need help from time to time. Everyone needs a friend to talk to or help get through the tough times because it ends up worse if they bear it alone. The depression may turn to suicidal attempts and the substance abuse will dangerously increase. It’s usually not anyone’s fault these things happen but we all have the power to make a change and save someone’s life. Just smile to that one guy who needs some light, listen to that one girl who needs someone there and shoe that right path for her, and be the person to turn the other cheek and keep peace in your world.

I remember when I walking home from the bus stop with my brother an old friend of mine showed up. I hadn’t seen her in a long while and changed quite a bit from the bubbly girl I once knew. She smoked, stole and had a lot of issues but I still cared for her. I was happy to see her but she started crying. Her parents had kicked her out. A friend had stolen four packs of cigarettes from her father earlier. She wasn‘t allowed back in until she couldn’t pay off the cigarettes .

Livid by the actions taken I took her in for a while letting her calm down, watching a movie before Dinner. But then she called her mom to say where she had been the whole day and that she wasn’t wondering the streets. Her mother must have been ashamed that my family took care of her because she want home right after the call. Just because a person isn’t perfect you shouldn’t condemn them or treat them differently as you would another, you might be the one to help them in the end.

Another good experience of being a friend when it counts was when one year ago, a week before Christmas a friend had surprised my family with a small but beautiful Christmas tree and had their uncle dressed up as Santa. My family was suffering with finical issues and were about to skip Christmas. Once My friend heard this news he and his family pulled through and brought Christmas, gifts and Santa for the kids to our house. It wasn’t even that they brought those things. Anyone could have. The point was they did it out of the kindness of their hearts and displayed selflessness, which is what Christmas is all about! To this day I look up to them and admire them dearly as a kind of family.

It’s hard in this life and we should all play a part in trying to improve it for ourselves and others. I simply smile and a good gesture goes a long way. Also friends are a dime dozen you make them you lose but it means the most when people are friends when you need it the most. That’s what make a true friend. That’s what it means to be a friend when it counts.

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