All I Need Is a Friend | Teen Ink

All I Need Is a Friend MAG

January 28, 2009
By Ryan Moran BRONZE, Mt. Prospect, Illinois
Ryan Moran BRONZE, Mt. Prospect, Illinois
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Books fill up my room.
Not baseball cards,
or pictures of girls,
or basketballs.
Maybe a blown up picture of …
… Pam Anderson might help.

Black-framed glasses
and a white,
pale,
lanky
body.
I should start working out.

At least I can read.
I read four books a day last summer.
The librarian,
80-year-old Mrs. Woodsworth,
she knows my middle name.
If only I had a real friend.
I am sick of seeing her old,
bony,
pale body.
Although it resembles mine.

The kids at school laugh.
Is it the way I dress?
Lacoste,
Ralph Lauren,
La Tigre.
I’ve tried every designer out there.
Staying in the house really saves me money.
My stupid rich parents give me $50 a week for lunch.
$50 times 36 weeks …
what is that?
$1,000,
$2,000,
$10,000?
I should probably know.
Straight A’s 12 years in a row
and counting.

With all of this,
or none of this –
it depends how you look at it –
all I need is a friend.



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This article has 1559 comments.


on Apr. 7 at 11:54 am
nishat_tanveel, Raichur, Other
0 articles 0 photos 6 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying.”<br /> <br /> -Oscar Wilde

I totally understand. At some point of life we genuinely need a friend who truly understand us, someone to not just laugh with us but to also cry with us. We need someone who we can trust with all our secrets and who we can rely on. This poetry genuinely touched me deeply 🥹

Ashe said...
on Mar. 29 at 6:08 pm
Ashe, Rochester, New York
0 articles 0 photos 5 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Everyone is good at something until someone asks to watch them do it"

i feel this sometimes, too. we all need a friend in our lives..

Emu said...
on Mar. 23 at 9:42 pm
Emu, Camden, Tennessee
0 articles 0 photos 12 comments
This wonderfully written! We all need a friend

Noor_sparkle said...
on Mar. 10 at 3:17 am
Noor_sparkle, Ambala, Other
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
The wind is rising, we must try to live.

Amazing!

on Jan. 20 at 10:36 pm
KayZ-doodle20 GOLD, Ogden, Utah
17 articles 0 photos 100 comments

Favorite Quote:
"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." <br /> - Ralph Waldo Emerson

I totally understand how it feels to just want a friend! Very relatable! And this is so descriptive, great job!

on Jan. 9 at 7:02 am
Amari_Keretsa, Wichita, Kansas
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment
You never have to change for a friend. Always remember that someone out there will love you for being you. This poem was truly wonderful! Keep reading and writing!

on Nov. 19 2025 at 9:47 pm
crochetgirl25, Bell Air, Maryland
0 articles 0 photos 13 comments

Favorite Quote:
Why fit in when you are born to stand out

FullyKnownFullyChosen yesss

on Aug. 24 2025 at 12:47 am
AGirlWhoWrites, Winter Garden, Florida
0 articles 0 photos 6 comments
I really do love this. Please never stop writing such wonder.

on Aug. 8 2025 at 9:03 pm
BubblyMetalhead, Carbondale, Colorado
0 articles 0 photos 38 comments

Favorite Quote:
"...security cannot be the scapegoat to distract attention from the inequalities and injustices in our homeland." - Serj Tankian

This is so descriptive and combines subliminal humor with simple yet powerful words! I really like this and I hope you/your character found a good friend (but kept the love of reading, of course!).

on Apr. 3 2025 at 1:25 pm
FullyKnownFullyChosen, Richmond, Virginia
0 articles 0 photos 17 comments

Favorite Quote:
"God can't give us peace and happiness apart from Himself because there is no such thing."--C.S. Lewis

great job! we all need a friend, thankfully Jesus is a friend that sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24)

kingtroll1 said...
on Mar. 26 2025 at 12:16 pm
kingtroll1, Tucosn, Arizona
0 articles 0 photos 2 comments
Only $50 a week that's outrageous I get$1000

Sincerely-Me said...
on Mar. 24 2025 at 6:17 pm
Sincerely-Me, Willamsburg, Virginia
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment
Make sure your front door is open... so I can shut it. (that was awful) Honestly though, this is amazing.

Adwita BRONZE said...
on Feb. 28 2024 at 10:13 pm
Adwita BRONZE, Delhi, Other
4 articles 0 photos 1 comment
The poem is fabulous !it is almost like the poet read my diary...as a teen with straight As and the unrelenting desire to fit in ..I can relate to this a lot ...well written!

on Oct. 17 2023 at 7:56 pm
Cutiepie10009, Newton, Massachusetts
0 articles 0 photos 12 comments
This Poem is so sad It remindes me when I was little and I was looking for a friend .

on Oct. 17 2023 at 7:54 pm
Cutiepie10009, Newton, Massachusetts
0 articles 0 photos 12 comments
Nice Job Ireally like this

on Oct. 12 2023 at 12:41 pm
Mahathi_R BRONZE, Chennai, Other
1 article 0 photos 4 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The entropy of the Universe always increases"<br /> <br /> "Medicine is my lawful wife and literature, my mistress. When I get fed up with one, I spend the night with the other- Anton Chekhov"

Well written, so crisp and sweet. This poem is unlike other mundane poem, makes you feel the essence deep down

on Aug. 25 2023 at 5:48 pm
NobodyGreek BRONZE, Navasota, Texas
2 articles 0 photos 4 comments

Favorite Quote:
We have all got both light and darkness inside of us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That is who we really are.<br /> <br /> <br /> -Percy Jackson

I can relate I also desire someone to connect with

on Feb. 7 2023 at 8:29 am
MadameofWar SILVER, Warsaw, Indiana
6 articles 0 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
Were I to fall in love, indeed, it would be a different thing! but I have never been in love; it is not my way, or my nature; and I do not think I ever shall.<br /> —Jane Austen, Emma

This is the poetry I and hate too read. I love it because people can relate to it and it makes you feel seen. I hate it because it reminds me of how much I relate to this and kinda makes me want to cry.

sarsmithh GOLD said...
on Nov. 8 2022 at 9:27 pm
sarsmithh GOLD, South Glens Falls, New York
12 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
everything happens for a reason

so good wow

on Oct. 25 2022 at 8:37 pm
Ambiguous101 GOLD, Baxter, Minnesota
14 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
Pain is Weakness Leaving the Body

I can really relate to this poem. I have no friends other than the characters in my books. I get straight A's and people only talk to me for help with their homework, quizs, or tests. I really like how it speaks to me, as if it understands and knows what I've been going through. Along with other people. Great work!!!!!