spongebob and friendship

The most meaningful things in life are those that require reflection on why they are important. The obvious facets of life are not as meaningful as the thought-provoking ones. Love is difficult to grasp and it will be hard for anyone truly in love to explain why they admire their loved one. Anyone who likes action movies knows why they like them. Everyone who likes the "Die Hard" movies shares the sentiment that John McClane is a badass. But if someone loves "Die Hard" on a level deeper than that, that person has thought about it. The most meaningful and true things in life go beyond a base level of pleasure or obvious meaning. Their true meanings are ethereal, but when they are found they stay with those who find them. A couple in love knows that they are in love, but the explanation of that affection is harder to come by than than the affection itself.
Friendship is something I know is meaningful. People fall in and out of love all the time because its easy to trick yourself into thinking that you're in love with someone. All you have to do is indulge your animal instincts and then your brain does the rest, leading you to either a big matzo ball or a 50/50 shot at happiness. Friendship is more basic than relationship-love. Friendship-love is something that is based purely on who you are and who your friend is. I am quite sure that most people, when asked why they are friends with their best friend, would pause, give one answer along the lines of "similar sense of humor" or "he/she listens to me," and then, if allowed to continue, would list a plethora of ways that their friend is the best person in the world to them. True friends can grow apart just like lovers, but this comes from circumstances outside of the friendship. Friends don't stop being friends because they find out they aren't right for each other.
This brings me to Spongebob. The best example of friendship I know is the pairing of Spongebob Squarepants and Patrick Starr. Zach Hayes will groan anytime I mention Spongebob, but I think it is one of the greatest kids shows of all time. At its core, the show was about Spongebob's unending optimism and zany antics with his best friend and both of these are great messages for kids. Like "Die Hard" Spongebob has action appeal, as it is a pretty weird show, but I love it because I recognize that the most fun the main characters have is when they are together. And whenever I watch Spongebob now I am struck by how true the character's friendship is. They overcome all kinds of things and they always are able to understand each other, even when they are awful to each other. They always come back to being best friends because they know each other. Spongebob and Patrick fight and get angry with one another, but they are always brought back together by the mutual love of just being together. They love each other's company and it doesn't matter why because they know it is a true and real friendship. If Spongebob and Patrick wanted to think about why they are best friends they would be able to prattle on about each other for hours, but instead the show's creators leave it to the audience to understand. Friends frequently list anecdotes when they think about why they are friends: this leads to the conclusion that they just love being together. Existence is meaningful in itself because it can be meaningful however one wants it to be. Shared existence in the form of Friendship must be doubly meaningful then. I would never ask Spongebob and Patrick to wonder about their existence. They should just keep playing.