who benefits?

i just can't seem to let this go, although i've already chosen my course of action. it appears as though many people go through this: when you feel like you've done as much as you can for someone, whether it be a friend, relative, or lover, and then they can't seem to do the same for you. in my specific case, it's a friend. it's like, despite all the times she's not been a great friend to me or even been there when i needed her, and despite the fact that sometimes i just never wanna talk to her again because i'm so sick of it, i know that no matter what happens i'm always going to care about her and still love her because i've been her friend for so long and know that i would be there in a millisecond if she needed me. i suppose it's a curse in this case for those of us who just seem to care too much. it's times like these i wish that i could just not care. but then at other times, like when you're helping complete strangers and changing their lives (or at least trying to) and they just give you such a genuine smile, is when it's actually worth it. i suppose we just have to face it: people will take advantage of our good natures whether we foresee it or not, and because of that nature we don't retaliate or do anything about it, just ponder it carefully and perhaps share it with some very close, trusted friends. but then again, it is instances like these that leave us to clearly define who our true friends are that we can count upon in any situation. it's a mystery how these circumstances work, no? but we can only hope that one day it will all be worth it. for now, we just have to keep continuing letting our better nature and heavy sensitivity to others run our lives, because the only other choice would be to completely ignore it and ultimately destroy ourselves by ignoring that part of our minds and souls.