Students gain much support not only from their parents but also from their friends. Teens don’t often recognize consciously how much the people they are with influence them.

Everyone needs support and encouragement. Teens most especially need it to bring out the best in them. If support is genuine and obvious, teens will be able to better themselves and fix whatever they need to change. More importantly, support helps teens develop confidence and self-awareness.

Choosing the right friends by knowing what qualities to look for and seeing how those qualities can complement one’s personality and style, as well as one’s core values, create a better environment and support system and bring out the best in one another.

An encouraging group of friends makes a person healthier by reducing one’s risk of cardiovascular diseases. Research shows that those with happy friends have an increased happiness of 15 percent, as opposed to those with unhappy friends having a decrease of 7 percent in happiness.

One may argue that choosing the right people doesn’t always guarantee a great outcome. An example is bullying between friends or a lack of support on behalf of a friend who is being bullied. Such trials, however, are what help teens become more knowledgeable human beings, allowing them to create and maintain friendships and finally realize what they truly need in a friendship.

Choosing friends may not be easy but slowly and surely, coming across the right ones that fit one’s needs will benefit both parties of the friendship. Friends are needed to help remind teens that they are important and that there will always be someone available to lend a helping hand.