Newsletter (2017-2018) April 2018 Newsletter | Page 12

Love Your Friends
By Yetta Zhuo
“Friendship does not have to assume any other
responsibilities except for the generous respon-
sibility of love. It almost completely escapes
jealousy and does not need to consider whether
both love and loved ones have qualifications. It
goes beyond everything. It is the love of spirit
and heart, and it is the love between the angels
we humans can imagine.” – David Brook, The
Social Animal (2012)
I deeply agree with this statement. Friendship,
familial affection, and romantic love are the
main melodies of life. Among these three rela-
tionships, friendship is like a mighty and mag-
nificent island that can be safely inhabited at
any time for me. From birth to the present, and
from the days I left my parents, my friends have
always accompanied me when I am depressed
and sad. These friends are part of my life. They
created me.
As I grew up, I became more and more aware
that even if I was not willing to admit the truth,
some people would walk away from my life and
there was nothing I could do about it. Howev-
er, people could also appear in my life and walk
into my inner world. One of these people is my
primary school classmate, Marvis. Our friend-
ship has lasted for over a decade.
We did not attend the same school when we were
in middle school and high school. Moreover, we
are not even in the same country for our univer-
sity studies. We have not been able to meet and
talk very often given that we both have heavy
workloads. However, I will still think of her––
think of her sincerity, think of her persistence,
and think of the ups and downs that we went
through. Then dull days are no longer lonely
because of this companionship. When I think of
her, my heart is filled with joy.
Yetta and her dear friend Marvis in the US. They
have been friends since primary school.
will infect her and her grief will affect me. In
front of Marvis, I can be “real” enough to talk
to her freely about life and discuss trivial mat-
ters without scruples. Additionally, I can let off
steam for a long time, and she always listens qui-
etly until I become calm.
Last semester, I went to the US as an exchange
student. My exchange university was near the
town in which she lived, so I spent most my free
time with her. At that time, she rented an apart-
ment with her classmates outside campus and
did not have an extra bed for me. In order to save
my money, we slept in her narrow single bed for
half a month, and she never complained. She
even came up with the idea of sleeping on the
sofa so I could sleep on her bed. I was touched
by her consideration, and I am pretty sure that I
would do the same thing for her if I encountered
a similar situation. I have always appreciated
that I have such a sincere friend.
No matter how busy I am on weekdays, I still
wonder how she’s doing. When I am confused
and helpless, I will think of her. Even when I am
My friends have diverse personalities. Some of
sad and do not have an appetite, I know I must
them have different life philosophies from me;
eat something, because I know she would want
some of them have different aesthetic values
me to take better care of myself. My happiness
APRIL 2018
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