Having friends is one of the most important parts of a person’s life. Friends have affected my life whether it was through new friends I met during high school or friends I have known since elementary school. Within all of the types of friendships I have experienced, I always had to have a bit of courage. 

            Courage to me can be defined as having the bravery to do something. In a friendship, you will have to have the courage to be with them at their worst, to stand up to someone who is being rude to them, and sometimes even face a crowd of people with them and avoid the worry of being judged. To me, however, the most courageous thing to do in a friendship is to understand when it is time to let go. This, to me, is one of the most challenging things to do. 

            When a friend changes, you may not see it physically happening. This change can be in their personality. I once had to let go of friends who were having these types of changes, however, these changes were negative. The people I once shared all my thoughts and secrets about were now suddenly using those secrets to gain things from me. They once used my crush against me in order to get answers to a test. I didn’t feel happy at any point when I was around them. I was always scared that one day, me retrieving test answers or getting secrets off of someone wouldn’t be enough. I thought one day, no matter what I did, they’d want more, and they’d hold these secrets over my head. 

            After realizing that I was not at my best self when I was with them, I decided to make a change. In order to go back to being happy and comfortable instead of nervous all the time, I had to let my friends go. This act was something courageous to me because letting go of the people who still knew my secrets was a scary thought. I would have constant anxiety wondering what could happen if they were mad that I let them go. I thought to myself “what if one day, they tell everyone all about the crush I had?” or “What if everyone knows about the things I used to do to help them.”Eventually, I let go of those thoughts just as I let go of my friends. It took a lot of time, thinking, and bravery, but I did courageously removed those friends from my life. It was very scary, but it was a decision I don’t regret. I was able to build new friends after leaving the people I had. 

To conclude, it takes a lot of courage to have a friend, but it takes a lot more courage to understand when it is time to leave a friend. It can be something very challenging to do, but it can be something that can help a person in the end.