Friends are incredible and unique beings in our lives. They are people we meet and have fun with and learn from outside of our families. We aren't obligated to love friends as we would love our family, yet we find ourselves loving them anyway. These humans we meet in our lives can create a lasting impact that affect the way we act and interact and grow into the people we are meant to become. Every friendship is different, but they all should still hold roots in fundamental values that are true for all. Samwise Gamgee and Frodo Baggins have actually provided one of the best "relationship templates" there is for friendship. For those who have friends and for those who are as big of Lord of the Rings fans as I am, here is a complied list of lessons given to us by the OTP of one of the greatest sagas of all time. #friendgoals

1. Friends come in all different shapes and sizes. Sometimes, you'll look at someone and think, "how the heck are we friends?" A thought that probably ran through the mind of Frodo multiple times throughout his journey with Sam. While Frodo is a deeply pensive and private character, Sam is much more openly emotional and service oriented. Sometimes you're so different from one another, you have to stop and think about how the two of you fit together. Just think of it like a puzzle: no piece is the same, but that doesn't mean they can't all fit together perfectly. All you have to do is find who you fit with, who you're happy with.

2. Relationships aren't always 50-50. The give and take in friendships is always fluctuating. Sometimes, you'll give 75% and they'll only give 25%. Other times, you'll give 40% and they'll be giving 60%. It's okay to go back and forth. This is what makes a healthy relationship because you understand one another enough to remain friends even though you don't always share the same amount of love at a single time. This is especially seen when Sam and Frodo went back and forth saving each others lives during their journey. Whenever they risked their lives for one another, one must've felt a stronger love than the other at the time; a love strong enough to cause them to risk everything in order to ensure the other's safety. As long as you're love always equals 100% and it oscillates equally between each friend, you can have a strong and lasting bond.

3. Friends are sometimes the only people who can give us a different perspectives and challenge us in new ways. As people we meet on our own, outside of our families, friends come from their own backgrounds and have their own perspectives on things. For example, before Sam became good friends with Frodo, he had never really left his hometown, the Shire. His friendship with Frodo forced him to expand his worldview and experience new, exciting, frightening things. With friends, we can not only expand our world view, but also find ourselves presented with different situations and experiences we never would have gained had we stayed within our families. Friends knit the world together.

4. Even the best of friends, the best of relationships, can go through the meat grinder. Sometimes friends fight. It happens. It's sad. It's hard. Sometimes it gets so bad we need space from one another. It may even come to the point were you have to terminate a friendship. All of this can be very scary, but it can also make the friendship stronger if you're able to work through it. Frodo and Sam fought constantly. Although their situation was abnormal, and they fought about how they were going to survive

5. With a friend by your side to support you, you can accomplish anything. Nuf' said.