友達とは？

友達になれる基準はありますか？友達と言う概念は人それぞれなもので、微妙です。もちろん、友達と言えば、誰もが1人や2人の本当の友達を持っていると思いますけど、微妙なのは知り合いと友達を隔てる基準です。知り合いから友達と友達を超えている関係に至る過程はなんですか？学校だけで話し合って、隣の席の人はただの知り合いですか？学校でよく一緒につるんでいる男子はお互いに友達と認識しているんですけど、どうしてですか？大抵の時間は彼と過ごしていることですか？一緒に昼休みを過ごす仲間だからですか？不安や心地悪いにさせる人は友達には呼ばないけど、気持ちよくされたら、友達と呼ぶのですか？

Do you have any criteria for someone to become a friend? The idea of a friend is different for everyone – it is ambiguous. Of course, I would think that everybody has one or two real friends, but the ambiguity lies in what separates an “acquaintance” from a “friend”? What is the process to go from an acquaintance to a friend – to a relationship that surpasses friendship? Is the person that sits next to you that you only talk to during school a mere acquaintance? Why is it that the boys who hang out with each other at school recognize each other as friends? Is it because they spend most of their time together? Is it because they’re comrades that spend the lunch break with each other? You wouldn’t call someone who made you feel anxious or uncomfortable a friend, but would you call somebody who made you feel comfortable a friend?