Did you know that people without friends are more likely to die an early death? It's true. Just ask science.
你知道吗？没有朋友的人往往死的早。这是真的。不信，可以向科学求证。
To up your chances of living a long, happy life, having a bunch of fair-weather buddies1 won't do the trick. You need a diverse, well-rounded entourage that will stick with you through thick and thin. The following eight types of friends are just what you need to keep the doctor away.
1. A Loyal Best Friend
Sometimes a loyal best friend is the only thing you need to stay sane2. Everyone needs a non-judgmental friend who will support them no matter what. This is the kind of friend who lets you be a hot mess and knows all of your deepest and darkest secrets, but still loves you all the same.
2. A Fearless Adventurer
We live in a big world where there are so many places to see, people to meet, and experiences to be had, yet so many of us are stuck in our own routines and forget to, well, live. We all need an adventurous3 friend who will pull us out of our shells and introduce us to new ideas, cultures, philosophies, and activities.
3. A Brutally4 Honest Confidant
There's certain situations in life where we need to hear the harsh truth. That's what the brutally honest confidant is for. If you're in a rocky relationship and everyone's telling you that it's perfectly5 normal that you're back with that special someone for the 8th time in the last 2 years, the brutally honest confidant is there to yank your rose-colored glasses off and tell you, “Enough. Stop with all that break-up-and-get-back-together drama. You deserve better.”Friends are supposed to be honest with each other. If you find someone who is brutally honest with you (in a constructive6 way), then hold on to this person! People like that are hard to come by these days.
4. A Wise Mentor7
Jesse Jackson once said, "Never look down on someone unless you're helping8 them up." If you have someone smart, inspiring, and admirable in your life who practices this philosophy, you're extremely lucky. We all need a friend who inspires us to be better people without making us feel inadequate9. Plus, being around such a person will challenge us to better ourselves every day.
The wise mentor in your life doesn't have to be someone who shares the same occupation or hobbies with you. It's simply someone who's a few steps ahead of you in life and has enough wisdom and patience to guide you in the right direction. It can be anyone -- a colleague, a friend who's beyond their years, or an older neighbor -- as long as you look up to this person and want to be more like them.
5. A Friend From a Different Culture
The last thing you want to be described as is someone who's stuck in their own ways. If everyone had a friend from a
