What is a real friend? A real friend is someone     1     walks in when the rest of the world walks out. A real friend is someone     2     support we can count on. A real friend is someone     3     sees our true self, not just the face     4     we show to the world. Having a real friend is one of the luckiest things     5     we can experience. To get a real friend, we should first be trustworthy,    6     is also the basis of being a friend. In addition, we should be considerate and willing to give a hand to those     7     are in trouble.

2 . Defining what an ideal friend is like is not an easy task.     1     However, generally speaking, there are certain qualities that most people would consider as characteristics of an ideal friend.

The ideal friend knows how to show weakness. The ideal friends don’t try to prove how successful they are.     2     They show how much they trust us by admitting failings and sorrows. They offer us the gift of their vulnerability (脆弱).

    3     More often than it’s comfortable to admit, we don’t quite know what we think until a proper friend gently asks us to expand on a thought, to explain why we’re impressed by it and to find good answers to possible objections. They see the potential in what we’re saying when we can’t.

The proper friend helps build our self-understanding. There are so many things we don’t entirely comprehend about who we are. We find it hard to pin down our goals.     4     We might have some strong opinions, but it can be difficult to explain really why these ideas matter to us. The right friend listens and helps us piece together the best account of our fears and excitements.

They help us to like ourselves. Normally we’re intently alive to our own shortcomings; it’s more obvious, from our point of view, what’s disappointing about us than what’s attractive. We need a friend because we’re likely to be so very unfriendly towards ourselves.     5    

My dad got a new job. We had to pack up and move away from everything we were familiar with. There were so many changes. We came from the north, and now we were almost as far south as possible. We landed in South Florida, and we were total strangers. We moved over during the summer vacation, so I didn’t have to deal with school right away. Summer passed by while we unpacked, arranged furniture, found stores we liked, and adapted to the Sunshine State.

School was coming, and I was afraid of it. I was not an adventurous person. Being shy and quiet, I read a lot and did not make friends easily. My head was filled with fears and worries. Would I make friends? Would If it in? Would I survive in this strange new world? Anyway, there I was, attending a new school full of people I didn’t know.

I had a difficult time adapting to the new school. However, I still loved learning and reading. I even loved homework, and I was good at doing my homework. Loving books and reading helped me to get good grades. Teachers loved that about me. Other kids, though, did not. Although I always answered questions in class, I seldom talked with my classmates. I was unpopular. I felt like a total failure and nobody would like me.

The none day, at all boy walked over to me after an English class. He introduced himself and told me he was in the school basketball team. I knew him—he was the star player! “Hey,” he said. “You do really well in English class. And you know, my teammates and I spend much time competing and practicing. The subjects, especially English, really bother us. Do you think you could help us?” “Yes. Oh, definitely yes. I could, and I would,” I replied with surprise. We made the deal with an exchange of smiles.

Something gradually changed after that.

Meanwhile, the basketball players taught me how to play basketball.