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1 year ago
The Value of Friendship
Breaking news: The value of friendship has gone down
Caught your eye didn’t it? But to be frank, well its not exactly what I’d label “Breaking news” cause if you were to ask me, the value of friendship has been constantly taking on a downslide, one step a time up to the point I’m afraid a sudden avalanche will come and destroy it all.
A few weeks back, during one of my lectures in the Vocational Section Commander Course, we learnt about the five different levels of motivation. All of us have different sources of motivation and my dominant form of motivation was my friends, family and the people around me - social motivation. Now at that very point, it was only then that it struck me why I keep telling myself to be constantly surrounded by my peers. I never had a high self esteem and the people around me know that. I easily lose faith in myself, and in order for me to believe in myself, I cannot do it single handedly. I need the people around me to push me and cheer me on before I make it to the top to achieve my goal.
Its a weird form of motivation for one who is a motivator himself, but when people push me on, there’s this sudden surge of energy in me that propels me forward and makes me try my best, for the fear that if I do not achieve my goals, I would disappoint the people who have worked so hard to cheer me on. Fear. Now perhaps that’s my main motivational force eh?
So looking at this situation, I don’t know about you, but I really wish for friendship to remain being strong, cause if it takes a decline, I too will go down together with it.
Now there are a couple of reasons why friendship is on the decline, and one of the main factors that results in this phenomenon happening is due to the fact that people around us do not treasure friendship as greatly as the past.
Let me bring all of you back to the time where we were still young innocent kids. Remember how we’d use to get so upset whenever someone told us this: “I don’t friend you anymore!” And there we would be, feeling all miserable, sometimes up to the point of breaking down because we do not want to lose that friendship that has been built up so painstakingly. Yes, the words were not sincere and kids use them very often in an attempt to show their unhappiness, but it is this that truly shows the idea of valuing friendship. Then comes the constant effort to regain the friendship of the person by giving him sweets, writing him notes, hugging him and many others. Innocent kiddy actions deemed as “cute” on our part, but they signify sincerity - the true value of friendship.
Why can’t things be as they were from the past? Nowadays friends get thrown around like dirty laundry. They are there for us only when we want them to, we do not bother going the extra mile for them and if something bad were to happen between friends, they would never be too quick to “call it quits” .
To call it quits, the adult version of “I don’t friend you” , but what makes so much more lethal as compared to the other is that these words are usually muttered sincerely, cause to us adults, friends are abundant and we can find them everywhere. To lose that one friend would be like claiming a handful of sand from the beach - insignificant.
Now dear friends, it just goes to show how ignorant we are to the world around us. A friend is there for us all the time and a simple gesture or advice on our friend’s part shows that he cares for us. But do we see it that way? No.
A little conflict and it turns so heated up to the point we stop talking to each other. We end up arguing cause they “are not accepting ourselves for who we are” and people like that should not be treated as friends. However, do we take a step back and actually reflect upon ourselves to see if whatever was being said was indeed a fact and not just something mentioned out of the blue? We just see it based on our own perspective but lets get this straight and knock some sense into yourself - the world does NOT revolve around only you.
At this point, realise the irony. We are the adults, we are supposed to behave like adults. Supposed.
Yet we behave like little kids and who takes our role in setting the idea of the good role model? It is the children. Shameful.
So let’s all start afresh. Lets mend the ties between those who we might have ended our ties with for it is still possible to do so. Take time off to keep in touch with those whom we have not met for a long time, and show them a little gesture of love to kindly inform them that they are still deeply etched in our hearts and minds.
Here’s mine:
To all my friends from primary school, secondary school, JC, NCDCC, other organisations or the newfound facebook friends, I may not be physically there with you guys due to the crazily hectic schedule I am currently having, but no matter whatever happens, you know I am always there with you. My mind is. If you need a listening ear or someone to talk to, always know that I will be there for you. Things haven’t changed between us, I can assure you that.
Keep the friendship going guys, and NEVER EVER once let it fall. I don’t want a world without friendship. I’d just die. Like literally.
“Take my hand, and hold on tight, don’t let go, don’t you dare even try, there are so many roads to travel, so much still to find, so I want you to help me try and reach for the sky”
