A Sam Friend

A friend in need is a friend indeed

Many things in this world are easy to find, but others are rare. Unfortunately, the difficult things are often what people need most. For example, one hard thing to find in life is a good friend. I am not saying it is hard to find a friend; for many of us, people are easy to meet. But I do not mean just any old friend. I mean a friend who holds you above everything else in his/her life, a friend willing to sacrifice anything, and a friend who is always there in times of need.

Take Samwise Gamgee for example. Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien is a tremendously popular series of books and movies. In it the character Samwise is a strong supporting character. He is a Hobbit, a small fellow half the height of normal men who lives in a perfect home. He starts out as a simple gardener, but when he hears Frodo, the main character, is planning on taking the One Ring, the greatest source of evil in Middle Earth, to a town called Bree, Sam is at first unwillingly involved. The trip to Bree doesn’t end up working out well, and Sam ends up traveling with Frodo all the way into the most evil parts of their land to destroy the ring.

Along that hard journey, Sam devotes himself completely to Frodo. He would let Frodo rest and take watch even when he himself was overwhelmed with exhaustion. Sam would give Frodo his own share of the food and go without eating for the day so Frodo would have the strength to carry on. Sam would risk his own life in battle to give Frodo the chance to live.

Sam did everything for Frodo, except for the one thing he could not. Carry the ring. Frodo was the only one capable of bearing that burden, though it was a heavy burden indeed. When he finally reached his limit and collapsed at the slope of Mount Doom, it only took Sam a minute to figure out what to do. Although Sam was weary as well, he picked up Frodo and carried him up the mountain because he was not able to carry the ring for his companion. Many people overlooked Sam at first, but Frodo in the end realized “Frodo wouldn’t have got far without Sam.”

Friends like Sam are hard to find, but that is why it is important for us all to become a “Sam Friend.” Try placing your friends and family above yourself and your daily routine. Challenge yourself to be an unconditional friend for someone else. It will make a difference in your relationship both sides will notice.

Being a friend like that to others might get them through a difficult time they might not have been able to otherwise survive, or it may inspire them to be better friends to people they know. You may not be able to see the impact you are making as a “Sam Friend,” but others definitely will. Who knows, maybe “someone wouldn’t have got far without you.”