There a many types of people in this universe, and it takes a certain amount of effort and fate or destiny (which ever you prefer) to be good friends with someone. Some people that we meet become life-long friends, while others just naturally fade away into oblivion. Through friendships we mature and grow, and hopefully become a better person through our experiences and friendship. There are friends that you can learn from, there are friends that learn from you, and there are friends that are sometimes a little bit of both.
However, despite the nicety of such an ideal, there are times when you have to pull away from friends who are taking advantage of you and start to make you tired: friends who only know how to take from you almost all the time and have to be reminded (verbally) to occasionally reciprocate, only always wanting to be encouraged and having a naïve (one-sided) viewpoint on the world. Just as with any relationship, friendship is not one-sided and it is always the small things that matter most when push comes to shove; it takes effort on both ends.
When a friend is too engrossed in his or her own world and every conversation ends up being about their problems at work and their ‘little’ world”, always asking for advice but never really listening or taking a really long time to learn the lesson, it makes you feel like a broken record having to repeat yourself. The icing on the cake would be that said friend is only interested in what goes on in his/her own world, complaining on and on about how they were bullied at work or who they like, so much so that you start to get tired. If fatigue sets in then perhaps it is time to take a break from such a person or the relationship will start to sour with resentment. Taking a break is a sign that you still treasure that friendship.
It does not help much if said friend decides to sponge on you almost every time you go out together to have a meal or whatnot, always wanting to pick the most expensive item on the menu and hardly a word of thanks when payment is made or even the initiative to offer to pay their share. It might not be the case that the friend intentional wants to take advantage of such a situation, but it is a sad fact that said friend takes it for granted. When and if asked, said friend would gladly pay for the meal, but when left unsaid that friend would conveniently “forget” about paying for, let alone offer to pay their share.
It is fine when we were younger and in school, but surely there has to be a certain sense of self-awareness or any sort of awareness when we start working and are in the ‘real’ world. Everyone has their phases in life, but ultimately isn’t it a goal for us to live, to learn and to grow from learning?
However, despite the nicety of such an ideal, there are times when you have to pull away from friends who are taking advantage of you and start to make you tired: friends who only know how to take from you almost all the time and have to be reminded (verbally) to occasionally reciprocate, only always wanting to be encouraged and having a naïve (one-sided) viewpoint on the world. Just as with any relationship, friendship is not one-sided and it is always the small things that matter most when push comes to shove; it takes effort on both ends.
When a friend is too engrossed in his or her own world and every conversation ends up being about their problems at work and their ‘little’ world”, always asking for advice but never really listening or taking a really long time to learn the lesson, it makes you feel like a broken record having to repeat yourself. The icing on the cake would be that said friend is only interested in what goes on in his/her own world, complaining on and on about how they were bullied at work or who they like, so much so that you start to get tired. If fatigue sets in then perhaps it is time to take a break from such a person or the relationship will start to sour with resentment. Taking a break is a sign that you still treasure that friendship.
It does not help much if said friend decides to sponge on you almost every time you go out together to have a meal or whatnot, always wanting to pick the most expensive item on the menu and hardly a word of thanks when payment is made or even the initiative to offer to pay their share. It might not be the case that the friend intentional wants to take advantage of such a situation, but it is a sad fact that said friend takes it for granted. When and if asked, said friend would gladly pay for the meal, but when left unsaid that friend would conveniently “forget” about paying for, let alone offer to pay their share.
It is fine when we were younger and in school, but surely there has to be a certain sense of self-awareness or any sort of awareness when we start working and are in the ‘real’ world. Everyone has their phases in life, but ultimately isn’t it a goal for us to live, to learn and to grow from learning?
