What's great about good mates?
Friends can always be relied on to:

provide a shoulder to cry on.

take your fears and upsets seriously and offer appropriate advice.

feed your self-esteem with comments about how you're intelligent, attractive or deserving of better treatment.

make you feel special on occasions like birthdays.

provide real-life role models, teaching you how to be a better person, co-worker or friend.

rescue you from Star Wars-obsessed nuts you get stuck talking to at parties.

not even notice that your skin looks blotchy without make-up.

help you shop for hats when your new haircut is a disaster.

enthusiastically coo "I love that film" when you suggest hiring Bridget Jones's Diary on video again.

Friendship is more likely to go the distance if you hang out with pals who:

listen as well as talk.

respect other people's opinions.

take the initiative in keeping in touch.

have a positive attitude to life.

can be intimate without being indiscreet.

have a moral code similar to yours.