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21. When it comes to arguing with friends, the first thing that comes to mind is a debate I had with my friend Alice about whether we should "seize the day." Alice was my college classmate, and we were actually very good friends, but we often liked to debate abstract topics. Last year, we were discussing whether we should live for the moment. Alice thought that life is short, so we should live in the present and do whatever we want right away—there's no need to put things off because no one knows if tomorrow or an accident will come first. But in my opinion, we should prepare more for the future, learn to control our desires, and understand that we need to work hard before we can enjoy life. We argued about this for almost an hour, but neither of us could convince the other. Instead, both of us got really angry and stubborn. So we went back to our dormitories separately, still upset. But after returning to my dorm, I quickly calmed down. I realized that everyone has different backgrounds and experiences, so it's normal to have different opinions. What we need to do isn't to convince each other, but to try to understand each other—only then can friendship last. I felt really regretful and immediately went to apologize to Alice. She also expressed her own unhappiness and regret, and then we agreed that in the future, we would only exchange views and not let emotions affect our friendship. So we made up and became best friends again.
2. When it comes to learning good habits from friends, the first thing that comes to mind is regular reflection. This is a good habit I learned from my good friend Alice. Alice is my neighbor and my childhood friend; we grew up together and are each other's best friends. When I was in high school, playing badminton was very popular in our school, but neither my good friend Alice nor I knew how to play. So we decided to learn how to play badminton together and then play it at school to exercise. At first, neither of us played very well, but after only a few days, I noticed that Alice had made obvious progress, while I was still playing badly. So I asked Alice the secret of her progress. She said that because she often summarized and reflected on her mistakes and tried not to make the same mistake next time, she improved. It was at this moment that I suddenly realized she had this good habit. I also wanted to quickly master this sport, so I learned her habit, and sure enough, my skills improved soon. After a few days, both of us learned to play badminton. It is very important to regularly summarize and reflect to adjust ourselves. First, it helps us turn experiences into lessons and avoid making the same mistakes next time. Second, it is beneficial to our long-term development, because only by often reflecting on our strengths and weaknesses can we go faster and farther.
