The topic of friendship is one of the themes discussed in one of Aristotle's most popular works, The Nicomachean Ethics. Aristotle believes that human beings have virtues, one in particular is friendship. Aristotle believes that there are three different types of friendship; that of utility, the friendship of pleasure and the virtuous friendship. He claims that friendship should be highly valued and goes on to explain his theories which turn into self-love. If you don't love yourself, how will you love anyone else? One should live towards virtue, take care of oneself and always try to improve for one's overall good. The highest form of friendship, shown in the passage above, is the friendship of virtue. This type of friendship is based on a person wanting the best for their friends regardless of utility or pleasure. This friendship is long-lasting and difficult to obtain because these types of people are difficult to find and it takes a lot of effort to obtain it. Friendship is necessary for life because life without friends is unhappy. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay I agree with the idea that friends are necessary to live a good life. I agree with Aristotle because I have had a first-person account like the one he discussed. From personal experience I can attest to the ideology of friends forming a second family and the sense of security. I moved away from home two years ago to attend St. John's, it's been an interesting adjustment to make, lonely to say the least. I spent my days feeling like something was missing, I knew there was more to life than the one I was leading. I studied abroad in Paris during the spring semester of 2016, and that experience changed my life. Not only from a cultural point of view, but also in terms of friendship. I met the person who was the piece I was missing for more than the last two years, but for my whole life she is my friend Sydney. She taught me the true meaning of friendship, the one indicated by Aristotle. I believe our friendship emulates his words exactly. We both love each other but we also love ourselves. We are complete opposites but in a beautiful way because we are both able to bring something to the table. He brings optimism and lighthearted spirit to my more realistic and grounded approach. We are yin and yang. It's a friendship that transcends time and space as we both try to help the other improve in more ways than one. It's infrequent and rare and takes a lot of time and familiarity, but I know it's special because from the moment we stepped onto the Paris campus, it felt like home. We experienced what most others can only imagine, living in another country, but we did it together and this will stay with us for a lifetime. I celebrate and embrace his successes as I would my own and am there for the complaints because I wish someone was there for me. She's there in that way too, but she's also there to always listen as I try to solve problems. I think many people living in today's society are self-focused and competing with each other to get to the next level. Often forgetting that it takes a village, you need a sense of community to achieve your goals and friends by your side to help you along the way. I also think the key element of a virtuous friendship is that of self-love, not in a selfish way but by trying to better yourself for you and your friend. Always try to be the best possible person to add to the friendship so that you both can benefit from it. Two people who manage to grow together will be friends forever.