FRIENDSHIP

1) Let’s talk about friendship. What role do friends play in our lives?

People say that if you haven’t learnt the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learnt anything. To me friendship is very important. I have fun with friends and I can relax. I can also be myself. True friends never let me down, never go back on promises or forget about me. A true friend will also never put me down or hurt me. They are always there for me to hold my hand in difficult situations. A friend would love and support me no matter what. A true friend will always cover my back and help me out when I ask him to.

I can say that I have a lot of friends, but today I’d like to describe my best friend Tanya, because I know her the longest. Tanya is a very beautiful girl of 16. She is of medium height, she has curly blond hair and blue eyes. I like her style, because she often wears dresses, which suit her.

Tanya is a very talented girl. She is good at writing and she often writes articles for our school newspaper. She is also keen on languages, that’s why she is going to study English at the university.

We always hang out with her and the rest of my friends in the park, study together or talk for hours. I love my friend and I think that we will always stick together.

People say that friendship isn’t a big thing, it’s a million little things. For me these are loyalty and trust, respect and sincerity, affection and acceptance. It is also lack of arrogance. These are the little things that make our friendship special.

2) Can you rely on your friend in any situation?

Tanya is reliable, kind-hearted and generous, she can always help me or give me a piece of advice. I can trust her all my secrets and be sure she won’t tell anyone. She is also ready to help me in any dangerous situation. For example, two years ago I lost a large sum of money. Tanya gave that money to me and didn’t even ask me any questions and didn’t expect to get it back. As people say, “A friend in need is a friend indeed”.

3) What can you advise a teenager who is starting a new school and is afraid of bullies?

It is very difficult to start a new school, because you have no friends. But some teenagers come across a more difficult problem – bullies. A bully is a person who attacks someone physically or mentally, uses name-calling and plays ugly tricks on others. They make their victims feel miserable. What can be done to stop these mean people? We shouldn’t give them our attention. We should also talk to our parents or teachers, who can stop the threats. Also it is very important to talk to our friends. A bully can only pick on people who are weaker. But if we have friends who cover our back we are stronger.

4) Nowadays many young people have hundreds of friends in social networks. Do you agree that this friendship is real?

Nowadays some teenagers have 300 friends in VKontakte or on Facebook. I think that social networks are very popular and influence the way we communicate. It is easy to have conversations without leaving your house, listen to music, watch videos, and so on. However, some teenagers lose touch with reality. They prefer the number of friends to genuine friendship. As a result they can say that they have lots of friends, but in a difficult situation they might have no-one to rely on. That’s why I think that social networks are good for us, but only within reasonable limits.

5) What questions do you usually ask when you want to become friends with someone?