How Does Friends Benefit Our Lives

703 Words3 Pages
CATW#1 We can all agree that friends make our lives better. They encourage us when we’re feeling down, make us laugh, and laugh at our jokes. Friends make us feel good, almost anyone would agree. But the article by Tara Parker­Pope, “What are friends for?” goes beyond this simple point. According to Parker­Pope, our friendships can affect our stress levels, our ability to combat illness, and even our lifespan. The article shows that having friends can help us at every stage of life. I think one of the most significant ideas presented in the article is that having friends not only helps us emotionally, it also can impact our physical health. This is an important idea because it reminds us that even in our busy lives, we need to take the time to maintain our friendships. Facing a difficult challenge with friends is easier than facing it alone because friends can help us by giving advice and emotional support. Also, friends make challenges easier since they can make us believe we are capable of succeeding. To prove this point, Parker­Pope discusses a university of virginia study in which students had to climb a steep hill. Before they began, the students were asked to guess how steep the hill was. According to the article, “the students who stood with friends gave lower estimates of the steepness of the hill” compared to those who stood alone. In other words, those who had the support of their friends felt like it would be easier to climb the hill. I can certainly identify with the students in this study. For example, in 2007 I had to move to New Jersey with my husband and my four months daughter. It was hard for me because, I didn’t know nobody there and I was depressed all the time. But one day on my way to work, I met one lady who after that day became one of my best friends. She was around me all the time helping me and giving me all the
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