It is not easy to find true friends．Even if you’ve connected with someone，how do you really know he is a true friend？And often you will find that someone who you thought you could trust may have let you down．There are ways you can know if a friendship is true and how you can hold onto that friend．
Generally speaking，a true friend is someone who will be there for you no matter what happens．They will stand by you through bad and good times．They will accept you for who you are without trying to change you，and they will be there to help you grow in new ways．
A true friend will keep you secrets for you trust him．They will be honest and be someone you can depend on．They will listen and be someone you can talk things over with，even if they may not have advice to share with you．
However，friendship is a two-way street．To find true friends and keep them，you must in turn be the same as well．Be there for them in their hard times and share the good times with them．Be someone your friends can depend on as well and offer them the same thing they give to you．A friendship will fall apart fast if only one person is giving and putting all the effort．If you are the only one making an effort，be honest and it works．
Actually，there will be barriers in the road but that is the test of true friendship．If it can survive those barriers，it will be stronger and better than ever．Just as St Thomas Aquinas put it，“There is nothing on this earth more prized than friendship．”