What Are Friends For By Marion Winik

Title

By definition a friend is a person who provides assistance and support. We have different groups of friends for different purposes in our lives. Although there are many different categories of friends, Marion Winik author of “What are Friends For?” mentions that some of the more common groups consist of the faraway, work, family, and former friends (132). We keep our friends because we value their loyalty, communication, support, and dependability.

Loyalty is a hard quality to find in a friend, so once loyalty is found that friend is usually in it for life. Faraway friends are the ones we find ourselves turning to in our darkest hour of need and the ones that we would step into battle with. Marion Winik perfectly explains the importance

When that happens we slowly start to drift apart, a former friend is now nothing more than a memory. What is it that makes us stop communicating with each other? In my case it was a lifestyle change. My friend Kalicia and I were so close. We told each other everything. When I found out I was pregnant she was the first person I wanted to tell. At first she was beyond excited. I stayed with her and her family for the first half of my pregnancy. Then I moved to American Falls and everything stated to change. I was eight months pregnant when it all happened. Kalicia had invited me up to her house for my birthday celebration, but being that far along and having to work in the morning all I wanted to do was sleep. The next day, while I was at work she continued to call me multiple times, I knew something was wrong at that point. When I called her back she told me that her mom had passed out and stopped breathing. They had to do CPR on her until the ambulance arrived. I remember my heart dropping because she was like a second mom and I was so excited for her to meet my daughter. As I scrambled trying to get my shift covered so I could leave, I got the call that she had passed away. I remember that day like it was yesterday, the sky was dark, everything seemed grey, and heaven had gained another angel. I had never met such a vibrant and enthusiastic woman. She was understanding of every situation. Soon I felt

The most supportive of friends are manifest during life’s toughest of obstacles. They are the ones that help us power through the storm. Karen Karbo claims, “Most of us would prefer to think that we love our friends because of who they are, not because of the ways in which they support who we are. It sounds vaguely narcissistic, and yet the studies bear it out.”(156) while Yvette and I stated off as simple associates, she was soon to be reviled as my most supportive friend. She was just another co-worker. However, after our bosses went through a divorce, our most dependable co-worker moved, and another reunited with her drug habit, Yvette was the only one I could depend on. Together we became an unbreakable team. We could run the front office without any flaws. Since our friendship was growing we became even more supportive of each other, if one was slacking the other would step up and make sure the task was completed. We would switch off on answering the phones and taking on a challenging customer. Occasionally we would go out for a drink to destress from work. We had just started taking our girls out on play dates, and hanging out on weekends. One night my mom called me to let me know she had made other plans for the following night and I needed to figure out another arrangement for my daughter. Most nights I depend on my mom to watch my daughter so I can go to class, and when she is unable my sister will step in. In