The Company You Keep

We've long heard that our friends make us, and that choosing the right friends is key to leading the right life.
But who are the right friends? We all know that people aren't perfect, so which qualities take precedence over others? Which faults can we forgive due to the presence of virtues?
These are all, obviously, difficult questions to answer. And often, we don't choose the people we become friends with, we just become friends with them. Then, later, we may realize that there are more things about that person that we don't like than we initially realized... have we changed? Have they?
Is it wrong, as a friend, as a person that they trust, to have a change of opinion, to distance yourself from someone that clearly needs you?
I guess it really depends on what you look for in a friend. But often, we don't really know what we're looking for, and then we realize that the friendship was never built to last.
Many people judge others by how they treat them alone. Others judge people by how they treat everyone around them. Some people see only the good, others only the bad. Ok, I'm rambling. I guess my point is, judging people is hard, and we do it so easily and involuntarily, that, more often than not, we lose wonderful, precious people because we can't overlook a simple flaw. And other times, we end up spending our time with crude, mean, people because they have one attractive quality that somehow outweighs all of their horrible behavior.
So, if your friends make you, then you make your friends. That means, like it or not, the people who surround you are a reflection of who you are. So think about how you behave and treat others. And think about how your friends treat others as well. If something needs to be changed, change it. Some flaws should not be ignored, and some virtues should not be overlooked. Let's make a collective effort to be better people. A better society is sure to follow!