Everyone sees the world through the lenses of his or her own identity group. These are the lenses of religious belief, cultural, and ethnic orientation, gender, and life experiences. What we believe to be true is relative to who we are. Our perceptions of events, people and relationships influence the way in which we view conflict, the solutions and strategies we design and ultimately the actions we decide to take. As we become more aware of these lenses, we are able to see how they influence us. This deepens our understanding of who we are, allows us to adjust or widen our views, and increases the choices available to us for how we want to behave and act.

Friends are like pillars, sometimes they hold you up and sometimes they lean on you. The one that you call “friend” is that first person that you call when you hear good news, that person who remembers the things you like and don’t like; the person who is fun to be with, but also someone who is there for you no matter what. Friends help shape one’s values and actions. There are many qualities for a good friendship which include honesty, trustworthiness, loyalty, and unconditional acceptance. A friendship should make both parties in the relationship happy and both people should have fun when they spend time together.

The greatest human relations principle is to treat others the way you want to be treated. Remember healthy friendships are marked by cooperation, kindness, trust, and mutual respect.

For people to get on with each other exploring the concept of friends and friendship is one of the most important social actions people take in their lives. Friendships provide a sense of community and cooperation and can break down barriers between people from different groups than one’s own.