Socrates, like other famous philosophers, felt that a soul or true friendship is scarce (Vernon, 2010).  He encouraged people to understand their errors and faults in their beliefs as well as the failures of their characters (Vernon, 2010).  If I were to break this down into my own thoughts I would simply say that we are all human. We are capable of loving, disliking, trusting, believing, and thinking for ourselves.  There is no one who is perfect, or lives a perfect life, no matter how glamourous it looks on social media. Many of us have received most of our beliefs and values from our culture, or the people who raised us.  This is what pretty much drives us on a day-to-day basis. Even still, perfection is not there. We make mistakes, and disagree at times with others who may or may not share the same values. Now that I am an adult I have learned that when it comes to my own beliefs my parents were not always right.  I am not saying that there is anything wrong with the way I was raised, but I have more freedom to learn and explore on my own. Just like the next human, I have flaws that I can admit to. I can admit that I have overreacted at times and have blown some situations out of proportion. For people who do not know my character, this may drive them away.  My true friends know me well and can cope with my flaws, just like I can do with theirs. Nietzsche felt that true friendships have the ability to last longer when you have the ability to be yourself, and be honest (Vernon, 2010).  I agree with this. I am not saying that my friends are obligated to deal with this, but they know my heart, and they understand that there is no perfect friendship.  I have heard people say that nothing is certain life. I am not saying that I agree or disagree with this, but I do know that situations can change within the blink of an eye.  Socrates didn’t seek friends to be chummy, but he actually encouraged people to seek our their faults (Vernon, 2010). Being able to own-up to your character failures will help you cope and deal with these faults.  I feel that owning your errors in your character will allow you to see many life situations with an open-heart. Ethically speaking, you still have to show respect for your friends as well as be understanding in order to get through the tough times.  This course has taught me that it is okay to have a small group of select friends. I cannot say that I have lots of soul friendships, but now I understand why. A wholesome friendship is more than just “liking” someone’s post. It is more than just being there for the good times.  When I am going through something tough in life I know who I can depend on, and this is a friendship that is grounded in virtue.  

Vernon, M. (2010). The Meaning of Friendship. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.