You would probably hear us long before you would see us: we’ll be the people yelling and screaming at each other. My Big might be standing up in his seat at the restaurant table with a dinner fork in his hand, threatening us all. He’ll sit back down and it might seem like we all hate one another, but that assumption couldn’t be farther from the truth. This is just how we interact and show our admiration for each other. And I apologize for those around who are an audience to our family time, but your judgments won’t change who we are. Even though I’m making it seem like we’re terrible human beings, the truth is that we’re really not that bad.

When I first became a part of this family, I didn’t realize what I was getting myself into because I expected a traditional form of respect and admiration. But instead we substitute the admiration for comments of insult. Group texts turn into wars of words and it’s every person for themselves, or at times we take sides until one side gives in from all the bashing of words. Internet memes help to make all these insults seem more friendly and no one’s feelings are really hurt. This would probably be difficult to understand for most people but I fit right in. Being able to joke with someone always felt more intimate than words of endearment.

Anyone who sees our interaction might think we only harbor hate for each other, but the reality is that we would do anything for one another. If I ever need help with anything, they are always the first people that I go to. Whether it is advice about dating or just life in general, they’ll move past all the humor and become genuine in their advice. And I’ll do the same for them. The members of my Greek family are all passionate and ambitious people so we’ll often support each other by showing up to each other's events, whether it be a performance in a play, opera or other artistic performance. These people have been vital to my continued passion for writing because of their support. There are not many feelings greater than a group of people letting you know that they are proud of you.

In college, it can be difficult to find a group of people that are willing to offer a high level of support similar to what I have experienced. Although it’s not always easy to be a part of, I feel lucky to have landed in a family that is so similar to me. We feed off each other’s passions and I feel that motivates us to do greater things and make each other proud. Besides, I feel a family that only complimented one another would get boring because sometimes it’s necessary to joke around and relieve all the stress. Sometimes we might go a little too far with it and they may be a**holes, but they’re my a**holes.