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Nowadays, making true friends seems like a treasure hunt because so many people have forgotten what friendship is all about and only make friends for mutually beneficial reasons. If someone isn't giving you anything, even when you have nothing to offer yourself, they can't be your friend. It makes sense that as we age, our circle gets smaller or completely disappears due to this reason.

Our younger years though were fun and it was easier to make true friends, not pretenders or selfish and self-righteous ones.

What is a true friend?

• A true friend is someone you can rely on any day, any time, someone who is trustworthy because you tend to share your innermost thoughts and secrets with them.

• someone that makes you feel at ease with them, you don't need to pretend to be anyone when you are around them.

• Someone you feel happy to be around with, they are like a mood booster.

• They have your best interest at heart, they are not selfish, and when an opportunity arises, the first person they think of is you, that is what true friendship entails.

Due to my introverted personality, I didn't get to make many friends even when they tried to make friends with me, I always end up not taking having a friend serious as I've generally been a loner. Nevertheless, the few friends I did make were worth it, at least during our time spent together. My one and only very close friend Joy, who fortunately and unfortunately distance has separated us because she relocated to another country, has always been dependable and true.

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How I met her

It was our second term in JSS3 (Junior Secondary School) class in high school, students hardly transfer to a new school during this term, especially in this class, but she did, with her siblings, what was more surprising was that she had moved from a more prestigious college which was everyone desire to our local small school.

As a new student, she was always quiet with a frown and a sad look on her face, everyone wanted to be friends with her as she is very fair and beautiful, but she ignored all. Since they couldn't be friends with her, they started hating on her and gossip started that she was rusticated from her previous school due to her arrogance.

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On a particular day, during break time, everyone was out to get snacks and food, and as usual, she remained seated, I wanted to leave too but noticed she had on a kind of fearful and uncomfortable look, which I later found out her August visitor visited( female monthly circle) as naive as I was then because mine hadn't started yet, I helped cleaned and covered her up with my sweater, she was grateful and became more relaxed with me henceforth, with time, She revealed to me that the reason she acted so unsociable was because she had recently lost her father and was grieving. Her evil relatives had grabbed all he possessed and left them with nothing, forcing them to transfer from their former school because her mother had only been a housewife before he died.

She was passing through grief while the other students just assume she was arrogant, I became her companion, and tried to cheer her up, we were always referred to as twins since we were the tallest girls in class with the same height and stature, we did everything together, we visited each others house, my parents and her mum became friends, likewise our siblings. We always emerged best in class, I recall when my biology note was stolen a week before exams, she stayed all night and copied her note to a new book, which she gifted me the next morning, I literally cried that day, I'm hardly emotional but she knows how to stir my feelings.

She has remained my one and true friend to date, and even with the distance she is still loyal, and ready to listen to my advice and me hers, I was recently in need of something and just jokingly posted it on my WhatsApp status, she immediately reached out and keeps on surprising me.

In conclusion, A true friend stays true, nothing changes them, they are selfless and more like a part of you.

This post is in response to the hive learners weekly contest, week 51, edition 2, with the topic; The first encounter

Thank you for reading❤❤