For those of you who don’t personally know my family or our story, I’d like to share a small part of it. When my dad was young, his father got murdered. My dad was taken in by some very caring people after this tragedy, essentially raising him as one of their own. My dad eventually found that he had new siblings and parents, although he never forgot about the others. To this day, they’re just as much my grandparents as the rest. This is a massive 'thank you' to the people who turn into family.

There’s different definitions of family. Biologically, I have 4 grandparents, 2 parents, and 4 siblings. When I think about my family, not in terms of biology, but who’s actually family, I have much more than that. I also have people who are related to me, but aren’t considered family and that’s OK. I have so many other amazing people in my life that make up for it.

Family could be a friend, it could be a parental figure, it could be a neighbor, or it could be a kid you take in as your own. Growing up, my parents did this a lot; probably because they saw how important it was for my dad. With that, there’s many people that I view on the same level as my siblings. They annoy me, they drive me crazy, they get on my last nerve, but at the end of the day I love them and there’s not a single thing I wouldn’t do for them.

Situations like this happen all the time, things happen that bring you extremely close to people. You never forget this and you are forever bonded to them. I’ve had friends that turned into family that I would do anything for. I’ve also had their parents treat me as their own. Until this happened, I didn’t realize how deeply it affects us all. Not only do I gain a parent, but they gain a daughter.

The people who have became my family are there for a reason. They’ve given me advice when I needed it, picked my up when I was down, and were always cheering me on when I succeeded. It’s a never-ending stream of love and support, and for that I'm greatly thankful. There’s no way I’d be where I am today without them and I hope they know that. They’ve influenced my life in so many ways and I hope that I’ve done the same.

When I started writing this, I asked my dad, “Can I publish something with stuff about your dad in it?” The question was referring to his biological father, but he said, “Yeah, I’m an open book. You can write stuff about dad, both of them.” See, to him, they’re both his fathers. One isn’t biological, but had just as big of an impact in my dad’s life. For that, I’m forever grateful. I wouldn’t be me if my dad wasn’t him, and BOTH of his fathers got him there. I couldn't imagine my life without my nonbiological family.