Re (1): COMMUNITY

Yes, there is within us all a deep longing for intimacy with others. In particular, it is a true blessing to have friends in whom we can confide, sharing both our joys and our sorrows and unburdening our hearts. Other people help knock our rough edges off, give us a standard by which to grow (for we often become trapped within ourselves and stagnate), and help ease the loneliness we often feel. Of course, as you say, we shouldn't try to be somebody we're not, but absorbing one another's traits is all part of a friendship and has much to do with how we grow best. Just by being the unique you that you are, you model a way of seeing and responding to the world that I have never seen or known before because I am me. When the two of us become friends, I see you and you see me and we both grow and learn together. That is that nature of friendship: as iron sharpens iron, so one individual sharpens another.