Two years down the line; yet it feels like it’s just been yesterday. Friends we’ve made, foes we’ve e forgiven – it all sums up in a smile. Friends count in numerous, uncountable ways; and three years of college, one could hardly see them to be unlike family. It is this family that bonds, shares and lives through the three most memorable years of one’s life.

Friends are of a varied breed. Life comes in a platter; and friends are that big piece of cake that everyone dies to have a share of. Most of us have been brought up in the best possible ways, groomed to the finest, and cared for immensely; and yet we find ourselves at the forefront, often struggling it out with life’s troubles. For those who do call out for a rescue, think and rely upon the only few who they call friends.

Now let us ask ourselves; do we realize their true worth? Do we thank and appreciate them when it really matters? If we were to step back and glance through our life’s pages, how many of us would have had a smile of gratification for all those who’ve been next to us? It is sad, but lets face the truth; a very few of us can say for sure of exactly where we would be after graduation; or in this case where any of our friends would be either. However, one ought to remember, that friends of the truest kind come with no boundaries. It doesn’t matter who they may be, or where they may come from, or even what they may do; what does matter is how we choose them and keep them close to our hearts. For most of us, these individuals would matter as much as our own lives. That’s when we learn of their incomparable value, due to which evolves this priceless bond called friendship.

Out there in the open, you have absolutely no-one to watch your back, except for yourself and the person next to you. That person next to you believes the same. This is the beauty of being independent. Most of us would hardly remember the person who sat next to us back at sixth grade; or even the person who we had gone fishing with on one spring morning five years ago. One thing for sure, is that we would remember the person who had stuck his hand out to lend us help, whenever we were down and desperate.

Experience indeed tells us a great deal. However, good or bad it may be, it is still a good lesson learnt. Company of a good kind should be cherished and preserved well. Bad company however should be nipped in the bud and discarded for good. Bad company as it is ought to be done away with once and for all, but that does not mean that one should avoid reaching out to those who may need a helping hand from such a company. At the end of the day, to have good friends you have got to be a great friend yourself. ‘What goes around comes around’. Friends are not just gifts as most people put it, they are gems.

Manbha S Khonglah

BA (Journo, Psy & Eng)