Have you ever seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding? Remember when the main character, Toula's, huge family comes to town to help her with her wedding and end up being pushy, overbearing and all around loud and obnoxious? Ok, now imagine that scenario, but replace the Greeks with Persians, and you have my own Big Fat Persian Family. I should preface my explanation by pointing out that in Iran, when we say family, we don't just mean mom and dad and siblings. We mean grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins related by blood, cousins related by marriage, second cousins, third cousins, great-aunts and uncles, the family that has lived next door to your great-aunt for 30 years, etc. So by American standards, my family is huge. We're loud, we're abrasive, there are approximately 14 of us in one place at any given time, and someone always has some sort of homemade leftover, so why are you kids going out to eat and wasting money, huh?

But as loud and annoying as they are, my huge family is also my huge support system, and I wouldn't be the person I am today if it weren't for them. I have no better friends than the cousins I grew up with, no one to give me better advice than my aunts, and a family vacation really means nothing to me anymore unless all of us are together wreaking havoc all up and down the East Coast.

So here are five things I've learned growing up with a huge family. Trust me, if your family is anywhere near as big and obnoxious as mine, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

1. Family gatherings are probably going to end in disaster.

My nuclear family is disorganized at best, completely hectic at worst. Now, multiply that by three other nuclear families and you have approximately 20 loud, confused family members wandering around aimlessly and yelling at the closest person about how late we all are without actually trying to get us on the road any faster. Family barbecues end with at least two cousins burned because they dared each other to touch the grill. Family beach days start three hours later than we wanted to because we had to lug homemade stuffed peppers in our cooler with us for lunch later. And family excursions to neighboring states will more than likely end up in us banned from the state indefinitely for disorderly conduct.

2. Everyone always has opinion on how you dress, what you're studying, how you aren't married yet, etc.

I love my aunts, uncles, and grandparents. Really, I do. But if you've ever suffered through even a small family gathering as an adolescent up to a young adult, then you know this struggle well:

"So what are you studying in school? Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend? Do you have a job yet? I told you not to major in that, there are hardly any jobs out there for you!"

In a Persian family, this is all multiplied ten-fold. Instead of merely asking these questions and then changing the subject after you give them a cringe-worthy mumbled answer, a huge Persian family with aunts and uncles to spare will discuss the topic for another half an hour, lamenting the whole time how you aren't pretty enough for a relationship, smart enough to get that second degree, or ambitious enough to go for that promotion. Cue endless sighing.

3. There's either too much food or not enough food.

I find that whenever our huge family can synchronize their schedules enough to all congregate in the same place at the same time, the hosting family shifts into overdrive mode and cooks every type of food imaginable, leaves no dessert unbaked, and provides enough appetizers to feed a small army. And then the hosting family ends up with 2/3 of all that food in their fridge for the next few weeks.

Or, they go the other extreme, where the hosting family somehow forgot there are 20 of us and only grilled up a dozen burgers and has one bowl of salad. On those rare occasions, you better come prepared for a literal "Hunger Games" or you're going to pass a day at your relatives' house hungry and bored.

4. Family pictures are the most dreaded event of the year.

There isn't much more explanation I can give on this one besides they take forever, someone inevitably blinks no matter how many times you take it, and someone will always complain about how the final choice makes their butt look huge.

5. There's always someone there for you.

Despite how annoying and intrusive your huge family can always sometimes be, one of the biggest advantages to being a part of a huge family is that you know there will always be someone available for you at any given time. An aunt will always be happy to give you sound advice when you're having your third mid-college crisis of the month, an uncle will never mind stopping by to fix the old engine in your third hand-me-down car when it starts acting up again, and there is always a cousin or two lying around if you want to take an impromptu road trip to Connecticut to go to that one ice cream shop by the beach.

So yeah, 90% of the time I complain about being a part of my giant, loud, crazy Persian family; about how overbearing they can be, how my feelings get hurt by a careless comment sometimes, or how my cousin stole MY car color, thank you very much. But in the end, my big family is as precious to me as my own life, and at the end of the day, I would always rather have my big family than not.