I planned a party for my friends on my birthday, but no one showed up. When I discovered they had attended another party, I made the decision to discipline them severely 
I had been eagerly anticipating my birthday this year. I had a dream of celebrating my 30th birthday with my buddies. I made dinner, decorated the house, bought everything ahead of time, and waited. I was confident they would show up because we had decided to meet at precisely six o’clock.
However, nobody knocked at six o’clock. 15 minutes went by, then 30 minutes, then an hour, and so on. As I waited for a call or message, I continued to stare at my phone. Nothing. I hoped for the best even though I felt they might have been caught in traffic or something else had happened.
Finally, a short message arrived: “Sorry, it’s too far to drive, let’s meet another time. The present is ours. They were at another guy’s party, according to a video I saw on social media shortly after that.
Something broke inside of me at that very instant. I was terribly disappointed and upset. However, I understood that I needed to demonstrate to them that you don’t treat friends like this rather than sitting by myself in a room that was empty. Consequently, I did that.
After gathering myself, I proceeded to the location where they were partying.
The music stopped when I entered, and everyone turned to stare at me. I addressed each of them directly and stated:
Remember you? When you needed money and no one else was willing to lend it to you, I came to your aid.
— And you, I stayed by your bedside at night when you were sick and couldn’t get up. — When you were kicked out of your house and had nowhere to go, I took you in.
— And when your marriage was failing, I assisted you in regaining your wife.
Every word I said about what I had done for them was louder than the laughing and more powerful than the music.
— And you deceived me today when all I wanted was to spend one evening with you.
There was a thick quiet in the room. They lowered their eyes in embarrassment, and someone even attempted to speak. But it was already too late.
That night, I realized the most crucial thing: genuine friendship is determined by who supports you in times of need, not by how many parties you go together.
