What I am Looking for in Friends - Writing 2

By Jason Gao

Friend is a special word for me. Not everyone who I know can be defined as a friend. People can have a lot of friends, but it depends how they define the word friend. When people ask me do I have friends here or do I have a lot of friends, my answer might be yes. On the other hand, if people ask me do I have a lot of good friends or close friends, I might say no. It is hard to have a lot of good friends and close friends. When I define a person as a friend, they need to be friendly, helpful, and honest to me.

Friendly is the bottom line of what I look for in friends. If people cannot even be nice to me, then how can I expect them to be my friends? My friends are all friendly to me. They like to chat with me and sometimes to joke with me. Sometimes I will not happy with the jokes, but we will be fine in a short time. When I travel to my friends’ city they will come to see me although they are very busy. They will take me out for meals and take me to the good places in their city. It wouldn’t be exaggerating to say that I don’t even spend any money when I go to visit my friends.

           

Second, I will consider helpfulness when I am looking for friends. All my good friends and close friends are helpful to me. It doesn’t mean I am going to use them or set them up. A real friend will help me when I have a hard time. For example, when I need to borrow some money, they will lend the money to me without any excuses. People who are not your real friends or close friends might say they don’t have that much money or they are too busy. After you passed your hard period they will hypocritically ask me about my period. At this point, I already know who my real friends are. The real friend is a timely assistant not icing on the cake.

           

The third condition is honesty. Honesty is very important when I am looking for friends. I want a person who can tell the truth to me. I don’t need a perfunctory person. Usually when people are suddenly very good to you, it means they want to get something from you. My good friends will give me good advice when I am gong to do something stupid or wrong. The friends who are honest can help me to improve my shortcomings. Trustworthiness is a kind of honesty; my friends are trustworthy because they are never late for the appointments. They will pay me back as soon as possible after I lent the money to them.

           

In conclusion, friendliness, helpfulness, and honesty are most important for me when I am looking for a friend. If a person can satisfy these conditions, that means we have a chance to be good friends, but it is very hard to have good friends and close friends. Therefore if you have good friends around you, please treasure them.

What I Look for in a Friend - Writing 2

By Pamela den Ouden

When I was in grade five, I went to a new school. There, I met a new friend. After a short while, we were inseparable. Her family lived three blocks from my family. We used to run home from school at lunch and eat at her place. We almost always ate the same thing: tomato soup with lots of crackers broken up in it and a glass of milk. Then we would dash back to school, often getting there just as the bell was ringing. We spent a lot of time together doing other activities. We would walk each other home or stand at the corner talking, not wanting to leave each other. This friend exemplified the qualities that I still look for in a friend: reliability, an easy-going personality, and generosity.

First, when Valerie said she would meet me to walk to Girl Guides together, I could count on her to be at the corner at the pre-arranged time because she was reliable. This quality is still important to me. I want my friends to be reliable. If I call them because I have a problem, I want to be able to count on them to help me out. For example, once I had a flat tire. I had never changed a tire before, so I called a friend, and he came within a half-hour to help me. This is also the kind of friend I try to be. I think reliability shows respect for the other person and their time.

Next, an easy-going personality is a strong quality in a friend. I don’t need friends who stress me out! I want friends who get along with others and aren’t trouble-makers. They like to relax and talk about everyday things and also important issues. As I remember, Valerie was this kind of friend to me. I remember laughing a lot and talking, talking, talking! I think I am more easy-going now than I was when I was younger, and I hope this is an attractive quality to the people I meet.

Most importantly, generosity is a hallmark in a good friend. Generosity means giving of time, giving of attention, and maybe sometimes even giving of money. It’s hard for me to call people “friends” if, every time I call them up to invite them to go for coffee, to a movie, or another event, they are always busy doing something else. It’s hard, too, if they never call me up! Friends have to have time or make time for each other. Valerie and I certainly had that kind of friendship.

The word “friend” has taken on a new meaning with the advent of Facebook. “Friend” is a verb, and “unfriend” is a verb. It seems as if some people are in a contest to see how many friends they can have. I’ve seen people with 1,236 friends. Really? These are not the kind of friends I want. I still want friends who are reliable, easy-going, and generous.

Good Things Happen When You Least Expect Them

By Sae Kubota

Good things happen when you least expect them. Before I came here, I ate out with my high school friends. I met my friends after a long time, so we talked, laughed, and took some pictures. Then we ate many foods, and we talked and laughed again. After that, two friends stood up and went to somewhere. I thought that they went to the washroom. So I went on talking with my other friends. After a few minutes, my two friends came back with a cake. They were preparing a cake for me. A chocolate bar on the cake was written, “Sae, Hang in there!!” When I saw it, tears welled up in my eyes. We ate a cake and said, “Good bye.” My friends are very good.

How I Use Writing

By Maho

Blog: I almost write blog every night. I tell my friends that interesting things in blog. I make friends.

How I Use Writing

By Sayaka

I usually use an e-mail. I send to my family and my friends. I use an e-mail when I want to contact to another person. I sometimes attach some photos.

My Friend, Shota

By Hitomi Nakayama

Shota is one of my friends. I met him because of study abroad. We are learning English in Canada. He studies English because he wants to be an English teacher in the future. He comes from Osaka, Japan. He doesn’t have a brother or sister, but he has 6 dogs. He did a part-time job before he came to Canada. He cleaned somewhere, not one place. I think Shota is kind, so he is a good boy.

The Qualities of a Good Friend

By Maki Wakabayashi

There are several qualities of a good friend. First of all, I can rely on friends. Second, I can make them happy, and they make me happy. Third, we can laugh a lot together. Fourth, I feel easy to talk a lot. Fifth, I always feel funny. Finally, I alway feel comfortable.