Contrast Essay

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 is tall, blond and congenial yet relatively quiet and reserved. His childhood was consumed by school, church and Bible Quizzing. Luke always placed a lot of emphasis on succeeding academically and segued immediately into college following high school graduation. He is now nearing the completion of his business degree and already holds a full time position at a local bank. Luke is charming, thoughtful, musically talented and loved by everybody. His biggest flaw though is he doesn’t give himself enough credit. Most people twice his age would melt under the rigors of his schedule and load of responsibility.
Now, flip the coin over and you’ve got Joe. He is fairly short, dark haired and has never met a stranger. He was raised the son of a preacher who did well in school but his true attention was elsewhere. Joe’s main priorities were sports, ladies and having a good time. He married at 18 and joined the air force immediately after high school. During his tour of duty he and his wife had a child and decided to move back to Maine to be close to family and friends. Not long after this a second child was born. This led Joe to abandon his higher education and enter the workforce carrying two jobs to support his family. His outgoing personality soon led him into the customer service sector where he found a niche. Joe is fiercely loyal, friendly and dependable. If you spend any time with Joe you’ll notice the one thing he certainly does not lack is self confidence.
Luke and Joe tend to balance each other out quite nicely. They are both, loyal, dependable and fun to be around. On the basketball court Joe is the quick solid ball handler and shooter. Luke on the other hand can drive to the basket making it hard for opponents to settle in against them. At church Luke plays the keyboard and organ while Joe mixes it up in the sound booth. Joe is always ready to live it up and Luke’s steady nature helps keep things from getting too out of hand. They are both remarkable people who find and measure success in different ways.
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. As such I not only love them as brothers but feel responsible for what they become. I am supremely proud of them and although I am many years their senior I learn from them and look to them for love and support. I don't look at them and think of one as better than the other, just different. 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.