Humans are often referred to as social-beings who seek companionship and friendship throughout their life, as it helps their overall wellbeing. Peers play a crucial role in shaping a person’s life and thus, it is necessary to be thoughtful while making new friends. Many people believe that it is better to have friends who share similar opinions on a given topic, than those who have the caliber to start an argument about the same. From my standpoint, a friend must be capable of maintaining an equilibrium of both worlds. Moreover, the comfort in the friendship must allow the person to express their views freely without the fear of entering a debate.
On the one hand, sharing mutual thoughts about various topics aids in making the connection between two friends stronger. Due to the bond, risk of conflicts is low. However, this can seed monotony in the friendship. For instance, I was very close to my childhood friend from school and we had similar views on many things. Over the years, while the number of fights we got into was negligible, we started distancing from each other. Since, we were aware about each other’s style of thinking, there was no excitement left to meet and discuss things in person.
In contrast, peers who have polarity in opinions always have something to dwell upon. Furthermore, with discussing broad views the exposure one receives widens. It also leads to better assimilation of topics and influences a rigid mindset. Additionally, these friends always got you covered as you can rely on them for brutally honest opinions, advice and criticism.
Thus, to conclude it is important to make friends who not just think alike but also do not shy away from giving raw opinions. In order to identify a true friend, one can put a controversial tropic on the table and judge the response to evaluate the characteristics of the person and make an informed decision.