My Thoughts on Friendship by RJ - The Importance of Being a Friend

Starting on Sundays, I will have two types of columns, either Ask RJ to answer your questions to the blog or My Thoughts. This is my way to talk about topics or issues that are important to me and to you.

The Importance of Being a Friend .

Why do we have friends? What is so important about having friends? The better question would be what is a friend?

You have to be nice to people to have friends. So the issue is not so much having a friend but being a friend. So how do you be a friend?

Be daring – Take a risk to meet someone new. Take the time to hang out with someone you don't know. Being new at a school is really hard, but it's a great way to find friends. Reach out and be a friend with the new kids in your class or your neighborhood. If you are not new, take a risk, and try to hang out with different people at your school, and see how it turns out.

Be honest - Don't lie to get friends. No one likes a fake. And people eventually find out anyway.

Be yourself - Don't be a clone. Think for yourself. Don't be friends with someone just to get to be friends with another person. No one likes to be used.

Be modest – Don't brag. Don't try to make yourself better than others. The things you have is not nearly as important the character you have.

Be caring – Don't be mean. You have to be there for a person. Thick or thin, a friend sticks with the other person, no matter what.

Be trustworthy - Be someone that your friend can believe in and count on. Keep your word. If you make a promise, keep it.

Be positive - we all have days where you are angry, sad, or blue. A friend is someone who is there to try to cheer you up.

The main point of being a friend is keeping the Golden Rule. The Golden Rule says that you treat other people as you would want to be treated.

A while back I wrote about the three key principles of life. To Have Faith, Give Hope, and Show Love. That is what it means to be a friend.

Have a great week,

RJ with help from JA

PS. Don't forget to send in your Scary short stories by this Friday for the story contest. To review the details click here:

http://kidsnewsohio.blogspot.com/2011/09/kids-news-ohio-scary-short-story.html