1. Why are you close to your friend? Be specific.
“I’m close to him because I don’t really like a lot of people my age because they are really immature, but he’s not so it’s nice to be around him. We’re childhood friends so I’ve known him for a long time, around 7 years; he has a good personality and we have a good time together.”
2. What kinds of things do you like to do together?
“We don’t have to do anything big when we get together, like go to dinners or the amusement park every weekend. We can just chill at home and talk.”
3. Have you ever told your friend how much he means to you? If so, what did you say and how did he react? If you have never told him how much he means to you, why not?
“I haven’t, only because he already knows that I care about him and I don’t need to say it into words. If he didn’t know and he seemed like he needed to hear it, I would for sure tell him. I just haven’t because he already knows how I feel about him.”
In reference to the theories and ideas presented in “No Man Is an Island: Men in Relationships” by Christopher Kilmartin and Andrew P. Smiler, I can see that my friend has broken free of some of the stereotypical ways to behave around his friend. He does not abstain from speaking about his feelings about his friend, and would be ready to be vulnerable in a way of opening up and sharing feelings if his friend simply did not know, or seemed to need the reassurance that he had a friend who loved and cared about him very much.
Lovers and Fighters | Section 22 