Essay 3 Draft- The Importance of Friendship

In the movie Smoke Signals we meet cousins Thomas and Victor who have had tramactic experiences happen in both their lives. Thomas’ parents were killed in a house fire and Victor’s parents separated and later on his father died. When you have something that serious happen to you all you want is someone to talk to or just to listen to your needs. Even though Thomas and Victor were two different people they had a bond that was more like a love hate relationship. Victor’s personailty was a tough guy who didn’t take any crap and Thomas was a storyteller and a nerd. In the movie you see the importance of friendship and how it helps us grow and become sucessful in life. There are some points in maintaing a great friendship and they are; being a good listener, keeping commitments, giving support, and being there through trail and tribulations. Many people will walk in and out of your life; but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.
Once Victor found out about his father’s death the first one there was Thomas to see if he had found out about his dad. The story that Thomas told Victor was that he knew he was dead through the wind and he saw Victor’s mom crying. A friend would be the first one there to help comfort you but Victor got mad and bunched Thomas in the face for trying to tell him a story. At that point he was annoyed of his presnece and telling stories, all he wanted to do was run away. Part of friendship is giving support when needed and at that point I don’t think Victor was ready for it. There was a call from Susy who was Victor’s dad’s friend from Phoneix to let them know that there was stuff to be picked up and a truck to be driven back. Victor had no idea how he would afford to go down there until Thomas offered to give him the money to go. He had to think about it because he would be dealing with the annoying stories the whole way but at the same time Thomas was nice enough to give him the money. Thomas knew Victor accepted his offer when he showed up at the house.
They were on their way to Phoneix on the bus when Victor gave Thomas some great advice about not to trust anyone. He was being a good friend after Thomas believed a story that a girl told on the bus and right away Victor knew it wasn’t true. Being a good listener is a key point in the importance of friendship. Yeah Victor had to listen to all of Thomas’ stories but they all had a important meaning behind them. When the bus stopped for a break Victor tried telling Thomas that he needed to change his apperancce and try to not look like a nerd. Thomas took his advice and changed into a different looking person but still had his persoanlity as a stroyteller. Victor knew that if he changed people would look at him differently and not as a weird person. In my life growing up with my girl friends we were always giving eachother advice on what we needed to keep things going and to me that was a major importance to friendship. You need to trust your friends and what they say and you never want to doubt them. We always need to be a good listener and remember what our friends tell us because it can be valuable information for the future.
When they got to the home of Victor’s dad Susy was there to greet them. Right away Victor stood back and just wanted to get it over with but Thomas took the inituative to meet Susy and get to know her. This was important not only to get to know her but because she told Victor all the stories about him that his dad told her. When you meet someone new for the first time you may have a hard time believing what they say but Susy was trying to tell Victor that his father loved him and he told her all the fun they use to have. It is important as you grow up to have a clsoe friendship with your parents. Once Victor walked into his dad’s trailer it was hard for him due to the smell and all the memories he had with his dad. Some of those memories weren’t good ones but once he saw the picture with the word home on the back he got a better understanding of his dad and the love he had for him.
The way home from Phoenix Thomas and Victor had a long way to go before reaching home which left a lot of time to relive the trip and the past. After the adventure they went on together Victor changed his view on Thomas and considered him to be a friend. When in Phoenix Victor found out the truth on what happened the night Thomas’ parents were killed and that Victor’s father actually started the fire with fireworks. As Victor was dropping Thomas off at home he apologized to him and told him that his dad didn’t mean to start the fire, Thomas agreed that he knew he didn’t. Victor shared the ashes of his father with Thomas since he was like a father figure to him and Thomas did go on the adventure with him. Standing by your friends during hard times shows true friendship between each other and you can live with that memory forever.
Overall friendships are very important to have in your life even though you will always meet new people and others will always leave. Understandings and being sensitive is also very important because this is to maintain your bond which had been developed. You need to bear in mind that “true friends are hard to come by”. Hold onto your friendships; let them know you value them and do your best to solve problems as quickly as they arise. Trust your instincts and follow your heart!