Contrast Essay redo

When I think about friendship two names come to mind: Luke and Joe. One of my favorite things to do on a Saturday night is to spend a lazy evening with these great friends of mine. It usually starts with a pot-luck type dinner. Joe and his wife Amy usually host the gathering and provide the entrée. Most of the time I bring desert and Luke is good for chips and soda. Once things are cleaned up and the kids are in bathed and put to bed things slow down. Over coffee we spend time just enjoying each others company. Often through this interaction I wonder how friendships like this come to be between people who are so different in every way.
Luke and Joe have similar spiritual backgrounds. In fact both were raised in the same religion. Their focus in life however was very different. Luke spent most of his adolescent years immersed in school and Bible quizzing. He stayed at the top of his class academically and through hard work and dedication won many honors, even placing second in the nation one year in quizzing. Joe was also a good student but his attentions were mostly focused on sports and socializing. He played a sport every season and was even offered a college scholarship for football. What he lacked in scholastic achievement he more than made up for in good times and romantic triumphs.
Life after graduation was just as varied for these two friends. Luke attended the University of Maine with a business major. Joe on the other hand was married immediately after high school and joined the Air Force. While still in college Luke became a loan officer at a local bank where they allow him to keep a flexible schedule and help finance his education. Joe has had some continuing education but his family obligations have made it necessary to focus more on earning a living. He is no longer in the military; instead he works in the customer service sector where he thrives.
As you may have guessed by the different paths these two have taken, their personalities, while both congenial, are extremely different. They both are loyal, trustworthy and fun to be around, but that is where the similarities end. Luke is somewhat shy and quiet in nature. His biggest flaw is that he doesn’t give himself enough credit. Most people twice his age would melt under the rigors of his schedule and load of responsibility. Joe is quite the opposite. He is highly outgoing and usually is the first to initiate conversations. He is supremely confident and is not afraid to show it.
I’ve been friends with Luke and Joe for well over ten years. We all attend the same church but I guess I am the common bond that keeps the three of us so close. I’ve always been a sort of mentor as well as friend to both of them, and am supremely proud of both them. Joe is the proud father of two little girls and Luke is still single and intent on securing his career before settling down. Although I am many years their senior I learn from them and look to them for love and support. In many senses they are night and day but that’s a good thing. If there was no daylight we would miss out on most of life’s beauty but without the sleep darkness brings we would be too tired to enjoy it anyway.