TPO-03 - Independent Writing TaskDo you agree or disagree with the following statement?It is more important to keep your old friends than it is to make new friends.Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

Humans are social beings. Friends are the most important part of life and most precious gift of god., and friendships are, quite truly, what keeps societies running, social interactions healthy, and keeps us sane. Friends since beginning from childhood are old friends who have been always there for you. New friends introduce new experiences in your life, both have their own significance. In my view, it is more important to keep our old friends than it is to make new friends.

First of all, trust between two people is build over a period of time and therefore trust between two old friends is stronger as compared to new friends. So, it's easy to share your feelings and problems to a person whom you trust more. But it's difficult to open up your problems and personal matters with a new friend. Because of years of togetherness, old friends know likes and dislikes. Therefore, it is really a fun to spend time with old friends. Old friends make life more enjoyable. Strengths and weaknesses are not unknown by old friends because of intimacy in life, hence old friends can provide real support to achieve personal goals in life. Social support from friends also helps to cope with grief when serious incidences in life take place like injury, illness, and death.

Second, healthy and good old friendship can have a major impact on health and well-being. Old friends provide camaraderie and prevent loneliness in life. In one health journal, I have read that young adult with strong social support from friends have a reduced risk of many significant health problems, including depression, high blood pressure and an unhealthy body mass index (BMI). Studies have even found that older adults with a rich social life with friends are likely to live longer than their peers with fewer connections.

In today’s fast life, there is a need to learn new things at every phase of life, and fresh perspective and new horizons are introduced by new people into your life. These new friends in our life, don’t know all of our baggage, but contributes to facilitate our recent life, may be at a job or in a neighborhood. Even though, such friends can’t be placed at the level with old friends.

Finally, it is important for us to understand the value of friendship in life and what we can do to develop and nurture friendships as it is not always easy to build or maintain friendships and it takes effort. The enjoyment and comfort by old friendships make the investment worthwhile. Old friends can help to celebrate good time and provide support during a bad time in a life. It is an old saying that “Make new friends but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold.”