buds.

friends... a lot has been written about them... here's my stab at it.

let's try to differentiate them by acquaintance. so this means you have different sets or 'degrees' of friends.

first degree friends are those which you got to know without anyone forcibly introducing you with each other. these are for the most occassions where you get your 'true friends' or 'best friends' from. you became friends because you've had a chance to spend a great deal of time with them. a typical scenario would be school, more specifically on the first few days of it. you're thrown in to a class... you have some sort of conversation with a seat mate, then as you get around familiarizing yourself with the rest of the class, you have the natural tendency to stick to the ones that compliment your personality. so geeks go with geeks, bullies start recruiting their crew, the 'elite' band together feeding off each others ego, and loners... well let's just say they find their own friends within Ü. it doesn't matter where it is... be it school, work, or your community. you start off wide, then gradually filter it till you get comfortable enough to settle.

second degree friends or acquired friends. these are the people you had to brush elbows with because of a first degree friend. at this point, you may think that "since this person is a friend of my friend, then most likely that person should share most of the qualities i found admirable with my friend..." --it should but don't count on it. when loyalty comes into play, your second degree friends will turn on you faster than you can say 'shitpissdickcuntfuckass'. and why wouldn't they, you were never really their friend to start with... so naturally they will side with their first degree friend.

active friends. these are your current company. they may not be your true friends but since they are the ones readily available, you spend more time with them. good for those quick chats and easy enough to drag when you want to go out.

inactive friends. these are most likely your first degree friends back then but due to certain circumstances, you only get to be with them when special need arises and your active friends lack the history and understanding required.

groupees. these are friends that go well with a group. yet you wouldn't waste your time trying to get into a real relationship with these type. they may be fun to be with but you don't see in that person the depth neccessary to engage in a serious dialogue that will end up having you enlightened in the process. another kind of groupee friend is that which when within your group, everything seems great but when left alone... it gets all awkward and conversation means constantly grasping for topics to keep each other talking.

forced friends. well, these are not really your friends but you are required to be civil towards them. be it a favor for a real friend or just common decency. you may have nothing in common, you may even despise the person... grit your teeth and dig up that smile cos you have to deal with this person whether you like it or not.

friends for benefits. this is where a person befriends another for personal gain. it can get as shallow as getting into someones pants or to advance a person's position, or making friends with the right people to get yourself established, getting the right image/status through friends, milking the favor cow... and so on. here you dance your way into being wanted, accepted and recognized. put on a great show and soon enough you will reap the benefits. of course there is no doubt that this is wrong... though everybody does it... most of us tend to be hypocrites with the audacity to deny.

the dynamics of friendship are so complex that you can never fully enumerate all types... these are just a broad classification of some of the more common types.

----------------
Now playing: Keane - Bedshaped
via FoxyTunes