What does family mean to you? Maybe family is blood, maybe family is friends, maybe it's both. In the aftermath of Thanksgiving (spent without the majority of my family for the first time ever), I started thinking, what exactly is family?

I'm an only child, don't get me wrong I absolutely love it, but I always felt like something was missing. I would see my friends with their older siblings going shopping or to concerts. I would see my friends with their younger siblings imparting wisdom and getting to torture them. I knew that I was missing out on an important relationship. So one day I decided to stop missing out.

I made my friends my siblings. I made my canine companion my brother. And I didn't feel so alone anymore.

Family, to me, is the people who are there for you. They're the ones who will pick up the phone when you call. They're the ones who will welcome you into their homes with loving arms. They're the ones who force feed you every time you come over. They're the ones who cheer when you succeed and support you when you fail. They're the ones who tell you to drive safe and drink water. They're the ones who tease you, but don't degrade you.

My family is the people I love and who love me in return. Simple as that. They're my friends, my pets, my cheerleading team, my suitemates, my community.

I hear people say all the time that family is blood and that's it. I just cant help but feel like that is such a lonely way to live. Why limit your family? Why put a limit on the love you could give? If you ever end up in the situation I'm currently in, hours away from your "blood" family, being able to accept others into your life as "family," they will be a lifesaver. When I look around my dorm and see all my suitemates, it fills me with a warm, fuzzy feeling. Being with them feels like home, they're my sisters. When you accept others into your life as family, you can find a home anywhere.

And that is a very, very, useful skill to have.

Love those around you. Love them as hard as you possibly can, especially during the holiday season. Life is so hectic around this time of year, make sure you take a pause and look around. Enjoy your family, whatever "family" may mean to you.