At a point in my life, I was an introvert, and then I had friends that we do talk and do things together but along the way, life separated us and we had to go our separate ways. We were four in number then, two of them were married now and we are not that in touch anymore due to one reason or the other. I don't keep a large circle of friends because in such cases, it doesn't end well sometimes. The circle of four then does have issues due to conflict of interests. Whenever trouble arises, I'm always the listener because I pay less attention to what they hold much importance to.
One thing I have learned from my father is, "In a situation, never be the first to react or talk" he always tells me to learn from others. I applied this in my life as I grew, whenever there is an issue among my friends, as a listener, I always try to listen to the three of them, gather enough knowledge from what each one of them said then place my judgment from what I've learned from them. I continued with this until we grew up and got separated, then I didn't have anyone around that I could call a friend. Every of those I met in my journey as I grew up is more or fewer acquaintances because we don't share any strong bond other than just casual friends.
I was alone for years with no one I could call a friend until I gained admission into a higher institution. During my first second year, 1st semester, I met a girl who was a stranger to me then but became a part of me. She is now a twin sister I wish I had, from a stranger, she became the best part of me and we became best of friends. Then I grew my circle of friends again but this time, it was with just one person and I can say it is less of a trouble. I maintained myself as the listener but since there weren't many issues, I became the patient one.
My friend is hot-tempered, she gets angry easily, I don't know why she doesn't get angry with me, I do think, "Didn't I cross the limit or did she let go because of friendship?". Any outsider who exceeds his or her limit is in trouble with her, she flares up at every little thing and sometimes I do tell her, "She doesn't have to get angry over every issue". She does tell me I am the patient one, but she isn't, there are times I do calm her anytime she wants to get angry over issues that I see as irrelevant. With time she began to adjust and this made us blend well together as friends.
As friends, we can't get angry at the same time, so when she is angry, I always try to be calm so the situation doesn't escalate unless in some cases I can't contain my anger. This is when you can see both of us angry over a situation. I love my role as the patient because whenever she is angry and I talk to her, she is always calm. This made us a perfect combo, being friends with her is something I cherish a lot because there is a vacuum she occupies in my life. Appreciate good friends when you have them, it's not easy to find a truthful one these days. All we see today are backstabbers who don't care whether you survive or not.
Thanks for your time and your comments will be appreciated.