In choosing a friend, one should be very careful. A good friend can help you study. You can have fun together and make each other happy. Sometimes you will meet fair­weather friends. They will be with you as long as you have money or luck，but when you are down, they will run away. How do I know when I have found a good friend? I look for certain qualities of character，especially understanding, honesty and reliability(信任)．

Above all else, I look for understanding in a friend. A good friend tries to understand how another person is feeling. He is not quick to judge. Instead, he tries to learn from others. He puts himself in the other person’s place, and he tries to think of ways to be helpful. He is also a good listener.

At the same time, however, a good friend is honest. He does not look for faults in others. He notices their good points. In short, a friend will try to understand me and accept me.

Another quality of a friend is reliability. I can always depend on a good friend. If he tells me he will meet me somewhere at a certain time, I can be sure that he will be there. If I need a favor，he will do his best to help me. If I am in trouble, he will not run away from me.

There is a fourth quality that makes a friend special. A special friend is someone with whom we can have fun. We should enjoy our lives, and we would enjoy our friendship. That is why I especially like friends who are fun to be with. A good friend likes the same things I like. We share experience and learn from each other. A good friend has a good sense of humor too. He likes to laugh with me. That is how we share in the joy of being friends. And I know that he is looking for the same quality in me.

When I meet someone who is reliable, honest, and understanding，I know I’ve found a friend!

One of the biggest complaints I hear from people is that their friends just aren't there for them. More than that, sometimes friends are downright rude or even mean. You can't change people, but you can surround yourself with more positive people. Here are some benefits that spending time with positive friends can provide.

With positive friends, you don't need to beg for help when you need it, because chances are that they will be there for you without your begging. Positive individuals want others to be happy, and will go out of their way to help you when you're feeling down. As About, com states, "Ideal friendships provide support when you're down, fun when you're up, wisdom when you're lost."

Compare that to toxic friends, who might snipe at you or even laugh at you behind your back. Those people celebrate the downfall of others, and as a result you'll   end up feeling worse about yourself or the situation you're dealing with. Friends of this kind will add to whatever amount of stress you are feeling'

Your positive friends will not only help you recover from negative hits you take in life, but they will also inspire you to be the best you can be. For example, perhaps you always want to be a writer. The negative people in your life will probably tell you all the reasons why you won't succeed. Maybe you have already gone over the reasons why you might fail and this is what has prevented you from trying. But with positive people in your life, you'll feel more comfortable sharing these types of goals because your friends will give you the emotional push you need to go after what you want in life.

You naturally attract the kinds of friends who are most like you. So if you're a downer, you'll probably find that negative people come to you. The same is true for being positive. The more you are able to maintain a positive attitude, the more like-minded people you'll attract in return.

When my best friend and I were teenagers, our favorite place to hang out was the Hallmark store. If we had money, we would choose a perfect card for each other and then share tears or smiles depending on what emotion the words expressed. In those coming years we developed a     friendship built on sincere feelings and we often found comfort in the words of a Hallmark card. I think it is perhaps since those years that I have become a greeting card collector.

The other day, while cleaning out the storage in my home, I came across the bag where I have kept greeting cards. They are the lasting messages that speak the meanings of my life. I pulled out a foolish-looking card. It has a stick drawing on the front that seems to be my portrait(肖像画), I laughed as I realized this is exactly how my oldest daughter saw her mum. Opening it up I saw a hand-drawn heart with eyes and a big smile. On the other side are some words “You are the best mum in the world!” This may be one card that Hallmark cards cannot compete with for it is a treasure more precious than gold. I can’t go back to where I’ve been but, from time to time, I can be taken into a welcomed memory trip.

These are the Hallmark moments of our lives. Words from once upon a time inspire us to appreciate the people in our lives who mean so much. When we sometimes have doubts, or when the world treats us unfairly, the encouraging words are there in black and white, sometimes drawn in a homemade stick drawing with a heart-shaped smiling face standing out from the rest.

Life is a Hallmark card when you care enough to send the very best.