Friendship: A Boatload Of Support

637 Words3 Pages
Time and time again age-old sayings about friendship ring true; a girlfriend tells her best friend, “you know B., boys will come and go but friendships last forever,” or “you know B., you are the company you keep.” The support of a friend is a lasting consequence of shared values and morals, and shared experiences. The support from a family member is another relationship, but one that is not as subjective. The choice in family is limited, if non-existent, and the ability for a family member to relate to their teenage son or daughter is a clichéd nightmare. Different social spheres shape relationships. For the average teenager, the social spheres they encounter daily have a higher degree of friendships than family within them. Although a friend and a family member both offer a form of relationship, the ability to choose a friendship and the relevance of a friendship structures a stronger system of moral support than the moral support found in the relationship to a family member. Friendships offer a higher level of moral support based on the subjective nature of choice, whereas family values are static features of the relationship. Friends are handpicked companions. From early ages we are taught to share and love thy neighbor. Indeed families are able to teach us these vital ethics from a young age, but as teenagers our morals are shaped by our relationships in other aspects of life. We are able to choose who follows the same moral paths as us. Family values are at once kept within the family circle, and are an environment into which we are born. Ultimately, we cannot pick our family but we can pick our friends. This choice enables us to find the additional support that is needed as our social worlds grow. Perhaps you family and you do share the same morals, but because the social circles are growing, your moral arena will grow, and stronger levels of
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