Aristotle's definition of a friend is a soul dwelling in two bodies.
I have found that people can spend a lifetime without a friend to warrant such a definition, but I have been lucky enough to find many. I have known many of my treasured friends since first grade. We began to coalesce into a tight-knit group as the years went on, adding a few more friends along the way. By the time I entered the foreboding halls of high-school, I had my own little battalion of compatriots with whom I could lock arms. C.S. Lewis said that friendship is "the crown of life and the school of virtue."
My experience is validation of such a statement. We were playmates on the playground, accomplices in high school escapades, roommates in college, and cheerleaders to each other in marriage and parenthood.
I now teach the young women in my ward. I recognize in them, as I have in others, that great tragedy can befall young people without the security and support of good friends. Though my need for them has diminished, I am grateful every day for the role they played in defining who I am now. They gave me courage at a time of life when most are severely lacking it. They gave me confidence well above my own personal merits. They gave me enough competition to challenge and encourage me. And lest I paint a perfect picture of them, they gave me regular ulcers and reasons to worry. But I love them in spite of themselves, and always will.
I now teach the young women in my ward. I recognize in them, as I have in others, that great tragedy can befall young people without the security and support of good friends. Though my need for them has diminished, I am grateful every day for the role they played in defining who I am now. They gave me courage at a time of life when most are severely lacking it. They gave me confidence well above my own personal merits. They gave me enough competition to challenge and encourage me. And lest I paint a perfect picture of them, they gave me regular ulcers and reasons to worry. But I love them in spite of themselves, and always will.