Recently, one of my best friends, whom I've shared just about[幾乎] everything with since the first day of kindergarten[幼兒園], spent the weekend with me. Since I moved to a new town several years ago, we've both always looked forward to the few times a year when we can see each other.
Over the weekend, we spent hours and hours, staying up late[遲遲不睡] into the night, talking about the people she was hanging around with[交往]. She started telling me stories about her new boyfriend, about how he experimented[嘗試] with drugs[毒品,此處為大麻] and was into other self-destructive[自毀] behavior[行為]. I was blown away[震驚]! She told me how she had been lying to her parents about where she was going and even sneaking out[偷跑] to see this guy because they didn't want her around him. No matter how hard I tried to tell her that she deserved better, she didn't believe me. Her self-respect seemed to have disappeared.
I tried to convince her that she was ruining her future and heading for big trouble. I felt like I was getting nowhere[毫無進展]. I just couldn't believe that she really thought it was acceptable to hang with a bunch of losers, especially her boyfriend.
By the time she left, I was really worried about her and exhausted[疲憊] by the experience. It had been so frustrating[灰心的], I had come close to telling her several times during the weekend that maybe we had just grown too far apart to continue our friendship - but I didn't. I put the power of friendship to the ultimate[最后的] test. We'd been friends for far too long. I had to hope that she valued me enough to know that I was trying to save her from hurting herself. I wanted to believe that our friendship could conquer[克服] anything.
A few days later, she called to say that she had thought long and hard about our conversation, and then she told me that she had broken up with her boyfriend. I just listened on the other end of the phone with tears of joy running down my face. It was one of the truly rewarding[值得的] moments in my life. Never had I been so proud of a friend.(by Danielle Fishel)
