Good friends are comparable to a symbiotic relationship between animals. Both sides should benefit, or else it's not like that. You sound like a really nice guy, so you should be friends with people who make you feel as wanted and loved as you deserve. I wouldn't suggest going for the 'popular' crowd, they aren't as accepting of new people. Talk to someone that doesn't look like they have any friends either, or go talk to the small group of the geeky people (Heh, that's who my friends are, and they're great.) There is always someone else. The only friends that should say mean things are the ones that you KNOW don't mean it and you can say mean things back and both laugh. Once you have one good friend, they'll introduce you to their friends, and so on, until you know almost everyone. Just remember to be nice and make a good first impression, because the people you hang out with now really don't seem like they deserve you.

yeah sometimes some of us are unfortunate to have that circle of 'friends'...

friends by definition are those willing to co exist, accept, help/support you and to be happy with when family isn't there physically.

Seriously if they decide to play ditch, leave them before they continue to leave you and use you to do horrible things when you fall into the trap of desperation for friends.

Maybe make new friends at a job? or at another place?

As you describe it, I don't really call them friends. Or really sucky friends.
I think, friends are there to give you energy and yes to help you. I haven't had many friends in my life. I wish I had, then I would finish art school but I didn't because I didn't have friends there so I wasn't motivated. And now I'm still barely motivated because I have no friends.
Friendship is a very important part of life, we're social animals. That's why friendship is the most important part in love too.
To not feel lonely, to want to keep living, to get energy from, to share things with someone else...I value friends.

REAL friends will always be there for you, come hell or high water, always willing to lend an ear and try his/her best to help, and accepts you no matter what.

Don't worry, you will find the best friend you're dreaming of, you will, but only God knows when.

At some point at your life, you will find a friend that will laugh, or cry with you. It may not be today or tomorrow or maybe not until two years from now, but you will find someone like Pat or will do all the things that you love to do. All I know is that it may take time to find that "true" friend.

I have never really understood "friends" and how they work.
A probable definition is that they are either some parasite clinging to a person of higher standards just to improve society's view on them,
and probably because they are expecting some "rewarding" benefits to crawl out of their "affection".
Either way, it hasn't worked for me.

I'm just like you, with no "real friends", and scorned for no reason by those so-called "above" me.
Though they aren't as bad as the m@#!#$^$%%&!rs you described above, theres still this "wrong" feeling about it.
no one wants to be my partner, So I take advantage and do things my way. and I end up get better grades.

so, answering your question, what are "friends" for?

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

There is nothing wrong with you and your views. What's wrong is the sh#@$%rs that surround you and treat you like what they are.
When will people learn that people like you are sometimes people that yearn for........people?

life goes one. it's possibly to ford thorough as a one man team. I should know, I've done it.

The best thing you can do is walk away from these people, since you are a clean person, and
just go on as yourself, no matter what society thinks of you.
Hopefully you will be able to find a couple of real, REAL friends, such as pat.

good luck.

some of us never seem to fit in anyplace on earth but your time will come you just have to wait for it then grab it with both hands and never let go,also to have friends you have to be a good friend faithful and true,you can not fight,or have your own way all the time

Listen friends are for all those things that you mentioned. But here's the catch: a good friend is Extremely Rare.

The people you mention, I would call them more like acquaintances than friends. A true friend is like a brother or sister, or even closer. A true friend is there for you on sunny days and on cloudy ones. A true friend is everything you said and more.

Unfortunately in our culture, a lot of people call acquaintances friends, and they collect them like one would collect silver dollars or pottery. But I would say, if you haven't found many good friends in your life so far, that is actually normal. Most friends aren't good friends. Be patient, and be slow to really trust your heart to someone. When you find that friend that will last, it will make you so very happy.

I have been through the same sort of thing. I had one good friend when I was 4 years old, and then no close friends until the age of 26.

I'm sorry.

I'm not good at having friends either. My wife is my best friend, but she's also my only friend.

I'm in no position to give you advice, I'm right there with you.

I personally have never really been close to any of my friends because I expect them to let me down and they always did. I just liked having people around to do fun stuff with but then I would want more from a friendship after a while and that's when things would go to hell. I haven't had any friends in about 3 years now.

Well, I do have online friends. It works for me and where I'm at now. I'll make real life friends at some point but I think it's important to learn to be alone because there will always be times when you have to be alone.

Friends are for all the things that the people you've been unlucky enough to get involved with failed at. Furthermore, friends help each other improve as people instead of giving up at the drop of a hat.

You seem to have a bad luck streak going for you. Unfortunately it is hard to find people who will perform the latter part of that duty.

Re: being a "downer" - you have every right to be upset at things, but maybe you were dwelling on them too much? If so, what a good friend would do is try and help you get your mind off it - not tell you to shut up. This is what I mean about helping one another to improve as people. In a good kind of friendship, you'd be bringing out their compassionate side and they'd be helping you be more positive.

What your main problem seems to be is that you're getting too attached to the kinds of people who are taking advantage of you. Unfortunately, people do that by being manipulative - they LOOK like awesome people from a distance, but really, they're jerks, whereas a lot of the actual nice people are the quiet ones who get easily overlooked. Next time you see someone sitting alone, you might try talking to them.

And sometimes, sure, friends are the kind of people who shout and curse at each other and call each other names, but it's always in a joking kind of context - you should see me and some of my friends playing video games; ordinarily I curse like a kindergarten teacher, but when one of them FUCKING DRIVES ME OFF FUCKING RAINBOW ROAD THEY ARE "ABSOLUTE FUCKING CUNTS" for the next five minutes, because that's just how it works. If it's ever real, thats not friendship, that's abuse.

But, considering that your parents blame you for everything, I'm going to offer you a few bits of advice:

1.) Stop believing that everything is your fault. It is not. I can guarantee you this. Just because they're your parents doesn't mean they're right. And I know that while it's easy to accept something like this on a factual basis than it is to really FEEL its truth when you've been programmed all your life not to, you have to keep working at it. People who don't beat themselves up are far more pleasant to be around and to just BE. If you can afford to, you might consider seeing a therapist. It's nothing to be ashamed of - therapists are awesome and really, just as important for a lot of people as medical doctors if not more so.

2.) Start looking for patterns of people taking advantage of you. As soon as they start, stop doing them favors. This is the easiest way to weed out the jerkasses and find people who will be friends based on compassion and respect rather than "Oooh, what can I get from THIS person with minimal hassle? 8D" Apparently you haven't gotten much direction from them as far as telling good relationships from bad goes (not to say that your relationship with them as a whole is bad - just do be wary of when people jump to blame you for everything you had even the slightest involvement in because statistically it's pretty close to impossible for it to be true), so unfortunately you've gotta start trying to figure it out on your own.
By default, we often look for friends who remind us in some way of immediate family - they're the first "friends" we have, after all. Therefore, even if your relationship with your family is mostly healthy, if there's a persistent problem in it, you're probably going to find friends who give you problems until you learn what you're looking for in a person - or rather trying to avoid.

Interesting... I could never imagine life without some of my friends. They are meant to be enjoyed, caring and when the time calls for it, helpful. If you feel you are being irrational, maybe I can lend a few words...

When I am with someone, I always take into account how long I have known them for. If you are going to START with the emotionally needy stuff, no wonder you seem like such a downer to alot of people. People can be, and usually are, very generous and caring... when they like the person in question. Starting with telling them about your problems is way too confronting for people who have just met you, but it is not so confronting when they know you and how to talk to you.

Also, have you considered how you some across when you are asking for emotional support? If you are just venting towards them, well, ot many like being on the receiving end of that. It may even make them feel hated. Whenever I want emotional support from a friend, I try to make them feel needed. I directly ask them and let them know that I am telling them something I wouldn't usually share. Things like that makes people feel appreciated.

We want to help our friends, and we should, but sounds like you are doing too much. You have to draw the line somewhere, or you will be exploited and appreciated only for what you can provide, not for who you are.

I have to admit, even the closest friends have to not be themselves around each-other sometimes. My best friend... I have had to be two-faced around him many times... I have to... I have no choice... It's more normal than you might think. And there are even times where I have to be blunt and hurt them, even if I know the pain will last for weeks... But I only do that out of wanting them to avoid a far greater pain...

I also deal with it. I was so alone, when I was a little girl. All those time I learn that the happiness doesn't come to you, you have to come to it, be happy at the way you are, think is all the good things in your life, and smile, smile everytime you can, I'm here if you want to talk too.

Well to saya with a friend's words:"A friend is planning your parents furneral so that you can mourn without caring about technical things." At least for single children this should be the matter, because everyone in their family is older than them and will likely die before them.