Everyone knows that friendship is a good thing. But did you know that friends have a huge impact on our quality of life and levels of happiness? They help us to relieve our stress, they provide comfort and joy, and also help to prevent loneliness and isolation. Despite the importance of having friends, close friendships don’t just happen overnight. An Australian study showed that strong social networks may lengthen survival in elderly men and women, with good friends being even more likely to increase longevity than close family members. Many of us daily struggle to meet new friends and develop quality companions. Even when we’re willing to put in the time and effort, we don’t always know how to go about it. But whatever may be your age or circumstances, it's never too late to make …show more content…
When we bump into someone on regular basis, the chance of developing friendship is more. We normally tend to be drawn to people we have similarities with: a weird sense of humour, similar hobbies, the same cultural background, a shared major or career path etc. So really making new friends isn’t that difficult if we think about it, but maintaining the friendship and making it last for the long run is what most of us have problems with. Many of us face problems when it comes to maintaining friendships. Why is that though? Everyday I see so many people meeting up with their old friends and catching up, though I also see so many people struggling to maintain a friendship. If we don’t find difficulty meeting new people and getting friendly with them, why do we struggle so hard to maintain the same relation we had no problem making? Why can't I keep friends for a long time? Do I have a talent of picking the wrong ones? Am i not a good judge of character? Or am I too egoistical to admit mistakes? Aristotle said that, "Friendship epitomized virtue, that friendship as a value transcended even honour and justice." Why are friends so hard to