I chose to read the essay “What Are Friends For?” by Marion Winik. In the essay, Winik describes the different kinds of friends you come across in your life and the types of relationships you will have with these friends. I find that I have a friend or friends in each one of the categories she described. Winik told how there are friends in different categories that play a more significant role in your life than friends in other categories.

The first relationship Winik explains is Buddies. Buddies are the type of friends that are there for you at any time and would do absolutely anything for you. The second relationship is the Relative Friend. The Relative Friend is someone that you are related to that you consider a friend. Maybe you and the relative share the same thoughts or opinions about other family members. This relationship is very worry-free. The third relationship is the Work Friends. These friends are people that you are just friends with particularly at the work place. Outside of work there isn’t really much to talk about, but at work you share inside jokes or thoughtful favors around the office. The fourth relationship is the Faraway Friend. This relationship is when one friend moves away. For some time you and this friend will be in close communication, but will then go months without talking. When seeing each other, it’s like nothing has changed. The fifth relationship is the Former friend. This is a friend that you were once really close with but had some kind of a falling out and don’t speak that much or at all. The next relationship is the Friend You Love to Hate. This friend is someone that gets on your nerves, but at the same time you love them to death. The next friend is the Hero Friend.

This friend is someone you look up to greatly and sometimes wish you could be them because of how great of a person they are. The last type of relationship is the new friend. This friend you meet spontaneously and realize you share many interests and enjoy the same things.

Overall, I am sure that everyone has a friend in at least one of the categories and is thankful the experiences they have or will get from the relationship. Friends are very important in life and should always be a main priority, because a life without friends would be a boring life.

Winik, Marion. &”What Are Friends For?&”. Models for Writers, 11th ed. Ed. Alfred Rosa and Paul Eschholz. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2012. 470-476. Print.