“Family first.”

That’s what everyone always says. They are the people who love you always and unconditionally. You care deeply for them but at times you may not always see eye to eye. You don’t have to.

Especially as a kid and teenager, you tend to find yourself in more fights or disagreements with family than you used to, especially as you grow older and more independent. These things are going to happen, and that doesn’t mean you have a bad relationship with someone. You don’t have to have the same values, the same ideas, or even the same opinions as someone else in order to be supported or supportive.

For myself, and so many others, many times family will tend to be your go-to when it comes to needing a helping hand or a shoulder to lean on. It’s easy to go to someone like a parent or sibling or anyone else when you’re in need, because you know they are there for you. Sometimes though, problems arise and tension grows if you aren’t getting along. If you get in an argument or have a disagreement, it becomes hard to go to that person. If those types of issues continue, it makes it even harder as time goes on. Nonetheless, this is something I have learned through experience and is likely to be the case for so many others; unconditional love means unconditional care.

At times I have felt like everything was crashing down on me. Whether it be school, work, or anything else, it can trap you. Then, just as you feel things can’t get any worse, you get yelled at by your parents or in a fight with your sibling. You start to think, “How can I go to them now? They are mad, they are unhappy with me and now I have no one.” This, as I have learned, is not the case.

When it comes to family, they truly have your back. For me, I have had my parents on me for all kinds of things in past months in regards to school, to my job and even to chores around the house. It can get overwhelming and it can get stressful and at times, I felt like I always had something else. Sometimes, I worried about the idea of going to them for a problem I might have and not getting the support I felt I needed (I am a chronic over-thinker, but that is a story for another day). To this day, I have proven that worry wrong most every time. Despite however well or however poorly I may be providing to my family what they wanted from me, the minute I needed assistance or help, it was as if all else became a side matter and what I needed was priority. And that is that unconditional care that comes out of an unconditional love. I used my parents as an example, but for myself and many others, this idea is not restricted to parent-children relationships. Family is family and they are all there for you no matter what.

True support comes from those who care most about you. When you need someone or something, you learn quickly whom you can go to and whom you cannot. Almost always, family seems to be those whom you can. Keep that thought in the back of your mind next time you really need help. Also try and return the support you get from those who provide it to you first and foremost. After all,

“Family first.”