According to Merriam-Webster, a friend is “a person you like or enjoy being with; a person who helps or supports someone or something” (Merriam-Webster). It goes on further to give examples of friends that are found on the playground or in the workplace. This is the dictionary definition that we have all come to know growing up. A friend is someone you like. A friend is someone you know and spend time with. It’s someone who will pick you up when you fall and be a shoulder to cry on when you need it. It’s the most basic definition of the word friendship that we have.

Oxford Dictionaries defines friend as “a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affections typically exclusive of sexual or family relations.” This is yet another definition that we are accustomed to. Friends are the people you bond with and form connections to. It is simple, or at least it should be.

Now, Aristotle had his own opinion of friends and friendship itself. He claimed that there are only three types of friendship in the world. In his mind, there are friendships of utility, friendships of pleasure, and perfect friendship. Friendships of utility are common among old people who depend on others and they are not lasting. Friendships of pleasure are more common among young people who have the most desire. These are not lasting either. Then there is perfect friendship which is described as “eating salt” together which means that they stick together through the thick and the thin. Perfect friends want, wish, and will good for the other and they share virtues.

But friendship isn’t that easy. It isn’t cut and dry, black and white, simplistic. Friendships are so complicated that it cannot possibly be condensed into a few sentences for a definition or three types.

Throughout our lives, we come into contact with so many different people who each impact us in very different ways. There are the friends that take you out of your comfort zone and make you take some risks such as making you wear a dress when it’s the last thing you want to do and they know it. There are the friends who are always right behind you, following you in some stupid expedition that you will laugh about when you think about it in 30 years, like going on midnight trips to the lake and getting lost. Then you have friends that are always there for you just to listen. They don’t shove their opinions or advice down your throat like some other people would. They just listen and make sure you know that they care. Some friends are around for emotional support and take care of you when you are a wreck and crying and distraught with everything that is going on around you. There’s always the mature friend as well, the one that takes care of you and makes sure you are okay and acts like a parent or older sibling. There are also the friends that make you feel safe and protected.

However, there are friends that is different than the rest. These friends are the ones that is a combination of some or all of the other ones and they are much more rare and special to find. They are the ones you can depend on over anyone else. They are the ones that will pick you up in the middle of the night or stay up and talk to you on the phone when you need them. They are the ones that will just give you a hug and you’ll know that everything will be okay. These are the friends you hang onto no matter how hard things get because they are the ones that will always have your back. Maybe these are the people Aristotle is talking about when he describes the idea of perfect friendship.

We would not be the people we are if we did not have the friends we have come to know. They impact each of us in a different way and they are the greatest things that can happen to us. They make life worth living and they bring joy into our hearts. Friends are complicated, and friendship isn’t easy, but it is vital in order for us to live a life that we are proud of and to grow and prosper as we age.

We will come into contact with many different people and we will form many different relationships, but that is OK because each one is important to us in its own way; even if it is a way that we cannot describe or even begin to comprehend.

One thing is for certain though. Friendship is more complicated than the dictionary definition and there are more than three types of friendships in this world, no matter what Merriam-Webster and Aristotle think. Friendship is one of the most complicated things in the world, but it sure as hell is worth all the difficulties it presents.