A friend is a person for whom you feel affection. The dictionary defines a friend as a person who gives assistance, a supporter, a person who is on good terms with another, or a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard. Although this is true, a friend can be much more. When two people are intimate with one another in a non-romantic way, they are friends. Each knows almost every fact about the other. A best friend knows when you have had a bad day from only a glance at your face--even with the fake smile--and she knows exactly what to say to cheer you up. A best friend can talk with you on the phone for hours about absolutely nothing. You could be talking for an endless time about the mall, a boy, a book, or the latest gossip of Britney Spears. With a best friend you can be yourself and not worry about all of the pressure upon you from different people. In our society, especially girls have double standards. Don’t be too fat, or too thin; or too dark, or too light; don’t be too sexual, or too chaste; or don’t be too smart, or too dumb. Our society gives us the overall message, “Be yourself, but make sure you fit in.” With a best friend none of that exists. Having a best friend means being able to poke fun at one another in a playful way and not having anyone get upset. It means taking on someone else’s problems and helping that person through rough patches when their parents are getting a divorce. It means having someone there to do the same for you when something in your life goes wrong. It means having someone to laugh with and jest with. It means borrowing clothes and money for that cute shirt at American Eagle that you had to buy but didn’t have enough money for--and not being expected to return the money for at least a month. It means being able to make 2:00 A.M. phone calls when you can’t sleep and are extremely bored with the book you were previously attempting to read in bed. It means having a shoulder to cry on when your boyfriend or girlfriend cheats on you with someone you trusted. It means having someone there just as sad as you when your dog, Maggie, passes away from old age. It means having a second home to go to when you get into a fight with your parents. It means that with this second home you have a second mother, a second father, and the ever-annoying second brother. It means knowing a person inside and out. It means trusting a person to know your deepest and darkest secrets--and trusting them to keep those secrets to themselves. It means having a person stand up for you, even when they know you are wrong. It means having someone there to pick up the pieces when you hit “rock bottom,” and having someone there to push you back down and laugh with you when you rip over a twig on the way to school. It means having someone stay by your side, even--and especially--when the rest of the world ostracizes you. It means being able to finish each other’s sentences and knowing what the other person is thinking when they are putting together a plan to prank their older brother. A friend--more specifically a best friend--is more than what it is defined as in the dictionary. Having a best friend is giving another person enough trust so that the two people can become one; it is trusting them with your secrets; it is giving someone the ability to hurt you, but trusting them not to; it is giving someone the ability to hurt you, and hoping that they help you up and stick by your side when you reach the unwelcome “rock bottom.”

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A/N: This is the edited version of an essay I posted a while ago, although I had to retype this from a written version, so there might be typos. Constructive criticism is always welcome, and even if it's not I would still like to know whether people like it or not, so please review! And if any of you reading this are One Tree Hill fanatics, you might have noticed (although probably not) that I did use a line from an episode in here, although not directly, and I'm almost positive I reworded it as well, but if I didn't, then I'm sorry. And just so you all know, I know that in things like this, such as author's notes, I tend to use very bad grammar. This is probably because for author's notes and such, I write how I talk, and well... you can most likely tell how I talk from this. I tend to ramble and go on and on, like now. Anyways, thanks for reading, and maybe leave a review?
Tieka