Friendship is life, life is friendship

Friendship means familiar and liking of each other's mind. People who are friends talk to each other and spend time together. They also help each other when they are in trouble or are hurt. ... The strength of the bond of friendship between two people can vary. If the bond is very strong, they are called best friends. There are so many reasons that it is important to have a really good friend. ...

A Good Friend Reduces Stress – Being with or talking to a good friend can calm you down and reduce the stress you feel. By being able to bounce thoughts and ideas off them, you feel more peace about yourself and your place in the world.Friends are so important. So important, in fact, that it's been proven that friendship can extend life expectancy and lower chances of heart disease. Friendship helps us survive. ...

Friendship ignites the part of the brain that makes us feel good, which makes us want to keep hanging out with our friends. I remember When I was in my teenage years, 10–20, I felt friends gave meaning to my life. When I got older, I realised that others can't give meaning to your life. Only you can give meaning to your life. When you allow others, your children, your friends, your partner to give meaning to your life, your own life is rather sad. You don't live for others. Friends, wives, partners, husband's, children, girlfriends, they come and go. But ultimately, you won't go. Those people in your life act as mirror, potentially an extension to your life, but they don't fulfill your life.

When you feel someone “completes” you, you'll be in trouble. Do you remember a guy called Elliot Rodgers? In 2014, he killed many people at the University of California, Santa Barbara and injured many more. He was a freshman at the time at the University of California, Riverside and then this news erupted. The news reminded all of us how fragile our lives are and how in an instant our lives can end in inexplicable reasons. The day after the event, I attended a candlelight vigil at the Bell Tower at our school to remember our fallen brothers and sisters at UC Santa Barbara. I did not know any of the people who died in his fit of rage, but I cried. I cried a lot that day.

Rodgers felt that the world was unfair to him. I don’t want to recap his motivations for his actions — if you want to find his modus operandi, look at his YouTube channel, or read his manifesto. Basically, Rodgers felt that the world was against him because he couldn’t get a girlfriend nor could he have sex with any girls. He was a recluse, spending a lot of time vlogging his sorrow to a recording camera.

His father left him because he became bankrupt after a failed movie (he was a movie director), and his mother was abusive and got Rodgers to believe that his father didn’t love him. She used Rodgers as a pawn, attacking her husband’s masculinity because he could offer child support payments. In turn, Rodgers sent some nasty emails to his father too.

Now that you understand Elliot Rodger’s psyche, you can somewhat understand where he’s coming from. His father practically abandoned him, and he despised his mother. He had no support system. He only had a few friends at school, but even he got jealous because his male friends were able to talk to girls and form relationships with them. Elliot wasn’t successful with women, or other guys because he didn’t try to communicate with them. He thought that women were some sort of prize to be won; that only the victors (or bad boys) deserved women and sex.

Jesus Christ, he had a messed up view of the world. I keep wondering, that, if he had a friend, maybe none of this had to happen. If he had someone to talk to, and hang out with, then he would be a normal boy who would get to know girls, have relationships, date, break up, and all the other things that boys do. I saw a YouTube video trying to an analysis of his actions. The YouTuber said that he was robbed of innocent interactions with women. He didn’t have casual touch from women, sex, nor friendships with women. She felt really sorry for him, because this was none of his fault. As a result, he grew resentful of what he didn’t have.

He had this idea, called the “Day of Retribution.” He was going to show the world just how angry he was. And with his actions he robbed many parents of their sons and daughters, many college students of their friends, and cause shockwaves in a quiet, sleepy beach community. When he was surrounded by the police, he was cornered and he shot himself to alleviate himself of his own personal suffering. Many of my friends have chosen to demonize Elliot Rodgers. No, he was not a good person. But he was forged by his own hopeless circumstances. In this way, I cannot grow resentful.

You don’t need to be someone special to be loved. Elliot should have received help, whether from the school or from the school administrators. Maybe this tragedy could have all been prevented if he had someone to talk to. I can’t help but feel sorry for him. Friendship is valuable. The whole idea that parents can't be friends is nonsense. Unlike what others are saying, such as “friends are necessary” and “they are beneficial to your health”, you do not need friends. Some people are and need to be more connected to others, but some people just don't like having friends. Cheers!