When you grow up all you hear about is families bonding on TV, how you're supposed to treat your relatives and what a family is "supposed" to look like. Well, I am here to tell you that family isn't everything, far from it actually.
If I've learned anything over my 18-years of life, it's that there's no such thing as a perfect family.
Unfortunately, when I was 12-years old my big family quickly turned into a smaller one. A family feud between what used to be close relatives at one point in time quickly took a toll on all of our lives. I was suddenly a young teenage girl without any role models other than my parents and my sister, alongside the other side of the family that still remained strong.
I was lucky enough to have already important people in my life take on these roles that others wouldn't or left behind. Still to this day the people I call my aunt, uncle, and grandparents are of no relation to me in any way.
These people took it upon themselves to step up to the plate of these roles for me and my close family. That's the important and great part about being in bad and messed up situations. People are there for you when you least expect it.
Family members are put into our lives whether we like that person or can stand being around them. We all have that crazy aunt, mean uncle or horrible cousin that no one can stand. It doesn't matter if you don't want to be related to them because you don't have a choice.
Just because someone has the same last name as you or you carry the same blood doesn't make them family.
Family is a title that should be earned, not given.
Think about the people that are always there for you during the good and the bad. What comes to mind? Close family friends, your boyfriend/girlfriend or maybe your best friend.
Family doesn't always have to be people that are related to you. Family is the people that are there day in and day out. They want to be in your life for the better, not to harm it. They're the people that truly care about you and your surroundings.
Having relatives isn't everything and family doesn't always come first.
