"FRIEND"...What does it mean to you?!

I've been facing a problem
To define the word "Friend"
Is it something tangible?
That has a beginning and an end?

Does it imply honesty?
Does it mean mutual Love?
Or is it just a word,
That means nothing of the above?

When I was young I thought:
"My friend is the one,
Who sits beside me in class
And helps me get my homework done.

As I grew somewhat older,
I changed my mind a bit,
"My friend is the one who keeps my secrets,
And with whom I can freely sit"

After a little while,
As I became more mature,
What did this word mean to me?
I was not pretty sure.

I thought it meant someone,
Who's always there for you,
In the times when you need her,
Not only when she needs you.

Someone you can easily depend on,
To shuffle all your sorrows away
And also through your happiness she's there,
You feel her presence every single day.

Someone who zaps you,
Back to reality,
When seeing you doing something,
Contradicting your personality.

She doesn't necessarily have to be,
Someone who gives perfect advice,
It's enough being near you when you need to talk,
Which is really something very nice!!

She can listen to you talking all night
Crying about your problems and fears,
Although her heart my be in pain,
And can't find someone to dry its tears.

However stupid your problems are,
She never faces you with this fact.
She listens and listens till you say:
"That's it! There's nothing more than that!"

If one day you were so happy,
And came to talk about
Something exciting that happened to you,
She would join your excitement; Jump and Shout!!

Although she might be in real pain,
Thinking about someone she lost,
She'd never show that to you,
She must join your happiness, she must!!

She can bear you when you're angry
And bear all the painful words you say
Cuz she knows this is not the real you,
Since you don't usually act in this bad way...

In our lives, we all must've met
People whom we thought were friends.
But then we got to know and discover
Their horrible personalities at the end.

However bad this might seem,
It makes us more experienced and strong.
We should learn to choose our friends wisely,
Cuz failing to do so is what's considered wrong.

It's okay to Love everyone you know,
But friend is a very sacred word,
You should select your friends very carefully
Cuz they're really very few people in this world

I've finished all what I have
To say about friendship and friends
Although talking about this issue
Can never ever end.

Now, I'll leave you to answer this question,
Until I find something new:
"Friend, this six-lettered word,
What does it mean to YOU..?!"