What is a friend?

Type in the word friend into dictionary.com and what do you get? A vast array of options, from two people who are attached to one another by feelings of affection or personal regard, to a person who is simply not hostile to another. Has there always been this much difference of opinion as to simply what constitutes a friend? I believe that our current society as truly distorted the true definition of a friend. In this facebook/internet era a friend, to many, is simply a recognizable face or name, or sometimes not even that much. To many people a few sentences said to another person in an internet chat room constitutes a friendship, but this is so off the mark. To me a friend is someone who truly understands you, someone who is always there for you no matter the circumstance, someone who always puts your thoughts and opinions alongside theirs, someone who you can truly trust, someone who makes you a better person, essentially someone you share a special connection with that transcends almost everything physical in nature. To me friendship is one of the greatest attributes of human interaction. True friendship is very hard to find in this world and once attained life becomes so much easier, so much simpler, so much sweeter, because no matter what... you are never alone!