Writers 
What does it mean to call someone a friend?
Is it just someone
you laugh with,
talk to every day,
and share your secrets with?
Or is it someone
who stays
when life isn't going the way you planned?
Someone who sees your good days
and doesn't disappear on the bad ones.
Someone who can celebrate your happiness
and still sit with you
when you have nothing to smile about.
Maybe friendship is loyalty.
Not the kind you only talk about,
but the kind you show
when nobody is watching.
Maybe it is transparency too—
being honest enough to tell the truth,
even when the truth isn't
what the other person wants to hear.
I've had friendships
that gave me more than memories.
Some gave me knowledge.
Some introduced me to better habits.
Some changed the way I saw certain things.
And some...
some simply ended.
I wasn't really happy when they did.
Because it's strange
how someone can become such a big part of your life
and then suddenly,
you have to learn how to live
without them.
But maybe that is also
part of friendship.
Learning.
Growing.
Changing.
And asking yourself—
Were they really a friend?
Or were they only someone
who happened to be around
for a season?
Because I think
friendship can be beautiful.
It can make you better.
It can teach you things
you never knew you needed to learn.
It can give you someone
to lean on when life feels heavy.
But for it to last,
maybe it needs the simple things:
Loyalty.
Honesty.
Understanding.
Effort.
Two people choosing
not just to call each other friends,
but to actually
be friends.
And maybe that's the difference—
Between having someone
and having a true friend.