Friends vs Associates

I figured out how this whole friends and associates thing. It’s all based around respect. Associates are those who respect your day to day demeanor but cant get next to you 100% because by doing that it makes them call into account and question their own moral standing and ideological standing, but they respect yours enough to acknowledge and respect it but from a safe distance. Friends are those who respect and identify with who you are and what you represent and therefore can move comfortably around you without walking on eggshells. So which one do you fall under?

I've found that those people we deem to be associates almost never share mutual friends with you because a friend of yours most likely mirrors you and therefor approaches these individuals in a very similar manner. More than often I find myself realizing ive made a friend their actual longevity and consistency of their presence in my life. So often people encounter those who they go through elementary, junior, and high school with but never allow or bother to see if that person crosses the threshold of "associate". To me this proves that we as a people pick friend in very egotistcal sense. Meaning we consider ourselves of ideal composition and therefore use the people we consider to be friends as our personal daily mirror to see ourselves.

I personally find that those I consider to be associates assign me a reputation that greatly precedes me. I've learned to contribute that to the my ealier thought that explained that associate have a respect for but no knowledge of your personal capacity and therfore cling to those visual perceptions of you that they respect hand and sensationalize them in a manner that creates a type of closure for their perceptions of you because chances are its as far as they are willing and we are willing to allow their connection to us.