Friendship...?

Tonight I had the biggest vent (bitch) about people I dislike (hate) with my sister. People who are stubborn, selfish and manipulative. People who only ever come to you when they need help and when you're the last resort. People who are rude, generally mean, and will do anything to get their way. People who I used to consider close, true friends. Up until recently I have still believed some of these people to be good friends of mine. I've always excused their wrong-doings and been deceived by their fascades. Their fake kindness. I've tried to understand their lack of effort in maintaining a good friendship, and have come to the conclusion, that there's simply no good excuse. I'm sick and tired of defending these people as my friends - standing up for them, sticking by them - when clearly they don't act like it. So I'm in the process of distancing myself from these people. And it feels good.

But then there are others. Friends who I do believe to be true friends, display similar traits as previous "friends". Friends who don't put much effort into friendship; who I constantly have to call otherwise the friendship wouldn't exist. I'm not sure whether I will look back at my friendships with these people and again recognise that they weren't true friends from the first place (or the true friendship was short-lived and died long ago) and that I should have dumped them at the time.

*sigh* Friendship is exhausting.