Genuine Friendships Are Hard to Come By

Genuine friendships are hard to come by. In this cynical world, trust and love are probably as rare as finding a needle in a haystack. However, when it does come to one's life, winning the lottery suddenly becomes a distant second to an individuals' list of memorable and worthwhile experiences.

I vividly remember my first year here at the Ateneo. I was one of those fresh high school graduates from the province who was so eager to experience what it would be like to study here in Manila, away from the clutches of my parents. I got into the dormitory and consequently began my dorm college life with 20 or more other girls. Finding a new group was fairly easy considering the fact that some of my schoolmates from high school also decided to dorm in the Ateneo. Majority of the new dormers were also Cebuano speaking people so conversing with them was not really a problem. The first few months were fun as the getting-to-know-you stage was often done through occasional trips to the mall or through late night chit chats. However, all the fun sort of faded once people started to show their true selves. One friend would suddenly storm into our room because she could no longer stand her roommate's nagging. As a matter of fact, I sometimes found myself doing the same. I guess it just came to a point wherein we all saw too much of each other and could not take it.

Fortunately, our lives are lived in stages. This reality also holds true in friendship. One year in the dorm with my friends has taught me that. The "I'm-irritated-with-her" stage is over and my friends and I have begun to accept the persons around us. This, however, was not blind acceptance. Long hours were spent talking and apologizing and sometimes even crying over petty fights that almost ended our friendship. With these moments, I believe that I have established genuine friendships with my friends.

I never imagined finding myself in such a situation. I had friends back in high school and I thought that we had a pretty special thing going on but when I think about it now, nothing can ever come close to what I have right now. This whole reality is definitely something new to me but I am willing to embrace it wholeheartedly. I am now aware that I truly love my friends and they love me back. Loving a person does not only entail loving his or her good side. It requires you to love, accept and trust the whole