Divorce rates seem to constantly be climbing and there’s always a buzz around town about couples and their unhappy marriages. What about the happy marriages? Often times these happy marriages are between two individuals that call one another their true best friend. These ‘best’ friendships consist of love, a resilient friendship, and infatuation. It is crucial to find a stable balance between the three characteristics to form an exciting and long-lasting marriage. The concept of being in love with another human being of the opposite sex is an abstract concept. It is very difficult to pin point exactly what being in love feels like. At one point in your life you may think that you love your significant other, but then that relationship fades and another one may come stronger and more fulfilling, bringing one to the conclusion that they did love their previous mate at least not on the same level. Richard McAnulty assembled a group of studies focused on different areas of relationships in Sex in College: The Things They Don’t Write Home About. I focused in on Pamela Regan’s research and utilized the visual on the following page to describe Love. The Hierarchy of Love and Other Emotions. Research conducted by Shaver, and their colleagues (Fehr & Russell, 1991; Fishcher, Shaver, & Carnochan, 1990; Shaver Schwartz, Kirson, O’Connor, 1987) suggests that young adults conceptualize love as a basic level concept contained within the superordinate category of emotion. In addition, young adults view love as containing a variety of subordinate concepts that reflect types or varieties of love; of these, maternal love is viewed as the most prototypical variety. (McAnulty 125) In attempting to define this unique concept, it is found that love is an emotion containing multiple phases of love that can be attained in a single relationship. In some cross-sex relationships each and every subordinate concept is evident at once and in others only one or two may be evident. Notice that friendship is a subordinate and it is important to further describe this concept because this can be the difference between a successful and unsuccessful marriage. As young children we begin to form close friendships, some last a lifetime and some fizzle away. The ones that last a lifetime are respected and referred to as a best friendship. How do you define a best friend? Your best friend is going to be that person that no matter the circumstance has your back on the playground, in the hallways, while you’re out having drinks, and in any time of need. You share your shadowed secrets with confidence, and for some reason a best friend always offers a different perspective that generally soothes the situation. Paul Amato and Alan Booth wrote A Generation at Risk: Growing Up in an Era of Family Upheaval and discuss the different relationships we form through our childhood into our young adulthood and the importance of them. Both Booth and Amato are Professors of Sociology (Amato- The University of Nebraska; Booth- The University of Nebraska). “Establishing satisfying long-term intimate relationships is one of the main challenges of early adulthood. Emotionally close and supportive relationships are critical because they contribute to people’s sense of well-bei