It wouldn’t be a mistake to say that mostly one’s life revolves around his family, friends or both. Usually we seek among them attention, support and of course approval of our own actions. One of the most common philosophical questions is what is more important – friends or family?
I would without a doubt say that both. Family plays a major role in our life from its very beginning. Relatives show us the world around and teach us how to live in it. They take care of us when we are little and love us unconditionally. Family isn’t just a unit in society, dividing people into groups, it’s also a teaching tool. Because all of us are getting our very first knowledge basics in our families, usually from our mother. Also our family is something we are going to take example from during our whole life. Some people are trying to copy that sort of the relationship they had in their families – intentionally or not, and some are trying to avoid mistakes, made by their parents.
As for our friends – I would say that mine are an extension to my family. These are the people I personally chose to be my family, I completely trust them and enjoy being in their company.
Many people, when comparing family to friends, say, that you can never fully trust friends, as they tend to betray you. I would disagree with this statement, because I always believed that it doesn’t matter, family or not, anyone can betray you, as well as anyone can stay faithful. It depends on a person, not on blood connections.
So my point is that friends are just as important as family and if you want to lead a happy life you should pay enough attention to both these aspects of your social life. Neglecting one of them would greatly affect one’s personality, as friends and family are the main sources of our socialization that makes a great deal of our successful existence within society.