what is a friend?

I've been really struggling with this question for a while: What is a friend?

people walk in and out of our lives...we move from education to work, from being a kid to being labelled a "grown-up"...and the people around us for each of these stages seem to move on with us.

being someone who has moved twice in her life (cross-continental and switching coasts), I don't really have friends that I've grown up with and known all my life...I know many who do, but that idea is still somewhat foreign to me. I don't think most of us have that "stability" in our lives - people whom we've known forever and who know us inside out. for the most part, people remain transient in our lives and we kind of go with the flow without being much of an active counterpart.

I suppose friendship often blooms out of convenience - if you see someone frequently enough, you become closer. those whom you see on a regular basis are usually those who kinda know what's going on in your life - strangely enough, physical proximity probably is a huge part of the equation. on the flip side, if it isn't convenient for you to see that person...the friendship has a large chance of disintegrating...not because of anything dramatic, but simply because you've drifted out of each other's lives.

ok...sorry....must cut it short...I will bring this up again tomorrow.