A Real Friend

by Dortell Williams

I had never really thought about what a friend was, much less a real friend. But after thinking about it, and having a lot of bad friends as examples, I know exactly what a good friend is supposed to be.

First, bad friends are not really friends at all. There’s no such thing as a bad friend. In reality, there are just good friends and bad people.

Bad people will dare you to do dangerous things you don’t want to do. Bad people will let you be the fall guy (or girl) for things that you didn’t do. Bad people are bad; they get you in trouble, or worse. Bad people try to get you to do things that are bad for you, like smoking or doing drugs, or worse. Bad friends gossip about you, laugh at you and think they’re better than you.

But a friend is someone you can trust. A friend will help you when you’re down; give you good advice and be there for you when you need him. A friend, a real friend will always do good things for you; you can count on a real friend. That doesn’t mean friends won’t make mistakes, they do. But a real friend will forgive and forget; a real friend will apologize and a real friend will keep your secrets until the grave – because most importantly, you can trust a real friend… with your life.