How do people choose whom to be friends with?

I didn’t make friends with too many people after graduating from university. I have about 10 good friends whom I often connect with. Although I have a few friends from job but our connection is mostly limited within the job affairs. Once I change a job, I would lose contact with my former colleagues. Strictly speaking, they’re not my real friends.

As for me, friends should be someone who could help me to improve instead of only drinking, eating or playing with you when we’re spare. We could talk about the books we read or debate about certain topics. We won’t agree with each other only to entertain him or her. I don’t live with my close friends in the same city so we contact online most of the time. Now we often talk about our jobs or learning. We usually contact with each other once a month or once a few months. It’s a relaxing and exciting period while we’re talking without any worry.

Now if I choose one to be friend with, we must have the apparent value and could get along with each other comfortably. And I’m sure most of us regard the comfortable relationship as the first principle of making friends no matter a healthy relationship or a bad relationship.

In fact, most of our close friends are our classmates. We built a solid relationship with them and this relationship will continue to influence us all the time.

Everyone has his own principle of making friends. We should have several fixed principles and never violate them. Friends for me are who could help me to improve and share values with each other.