• In childhood, friends are mostly other kids who are fun to play with
• In adolescence, there’s a lot more self-disclosure and support between friends, but adolescents are still discovering their identity, and learning what it means to be intimate. 
• During young adulthood, friendships become more complex and meaningful. They're more likely to seek out friends who share their values on the important things.
• The middle-aged persons define friendship as “being there” for each other but reported that they rarely had time to spend with their most valued friends, whether because of circumstances or through the age-old problem of good intentions and bad follow-through.

There are three expectations of a close friend that people describe and value across the entire life course.

• Somebody to talk to
• Someone to depend on
• Someone to enjoy

The beautiful, special thing about friendship is that friends are friends because they want...