Life is made up of relationships. At school, at work, we’re often surrounded by people. Peers, teachers, strangers. Hallways are full people, some acquaintances but most strangers. With all the people around, how do you know who possesses the qualities of a true friend? What is a true friend?

When I was in the fifth grade, I knew very little about friendship but now I know that a true friend does not talk behind your back. They don’t make fun of you when you do something wrong or without thinking. They don’t blame you but forgive you and ask for forgiveness in return.

I know that a true friend puts you first on their priority list. I know that they can tell when something is wrong, that when you get a bad grade and they get a good one, they don’t boast about what a good job they did but comfort you.

You do not have to see a true friend every day to keep the bond between you. In fact, a true friendship is strengthened by distance. To true friends, the conversation never gets tiring but keeps you up past 3 A.M. because talking to that person makes your day and theirs.

True friends go into a relationship with the mindset of what they can give instead of get. True friends think, “How can I make their life a little richer, a little brighter, a little happier?” If you are in a good relationship, they will do the same for you.

You will get hurt, but that is how life works. In a true relationship, you are going to fight but that does not break the bond. It makes you so much stronger because friendship is not a one-way street. You grow from those fights, those trials, those pains because love is so much stronger if it’s true. True friends don’t break but grow.

I didn’t know much about friendships when I was in the fifth grade, but now I’ve learned that you should not base your friends on their looks but on the content of their hearts. If you change yourself to be liked it will rip you apart. Don’t be a glow stick for other people because you have to break yourself to brighten their world.

Don’t let someone walk over your boundaries and disregard your feelings. If you have been hurt before, let down your walls and love because life is so much richer when you love. If you don’t let it out, you won’t be able to let anyone or anything in.

Not every relationship will leave you crying at midnight. Some will have you reliving moments you spent with your true friends. You can truly consider yourself lucky if you can count your best friends on one hand because having five close friends is so much better than having ten friends and no deep connections. It’s four quarters versus 100 pennies.

If you want more of this content then go check out ​​Tristen Synclair under read go to Love and Relationships.