Every one of us has had the experience of being the best friend. Ever since we learned to play in school, we have learned to form bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood with that fellow kid who used to hold our hand while we walk, or that other kid with whom you built that scrawny treehouse. But as we grow up our standards of being the best friend change from silly promises to a sort of commitment. Be the best friend to your friends.

Sensitivity. What a person needs most after a depressing day at work or a heartbreaking episode at home is a friend she can talk with. Being sensitive means you have to know your friend, so that you become sensitive to her changes in mood. Offer your support for her decisions and help her get over her problems.

Compassion. During misunderstandings, acknowledge your own part of the blame. Always putting the blame on others makes you a very unlikable person. Arguments and fights are all part of friendship. Best friends always know how to let some slide and, if the other party goes overboard, knows how to be understanding yet can make the other party know what he or she had felt.

Reliability. Be there when your friend needs you. As the song goes, “for good times and bad times.” The whole point of having a friend is having someone who can lift you out of your misery and not someone who’s only there when you’re having the best time of your life.