What is a family? A family is a single word with countless different meanings. Families differ in cultural, economic, social and many other aspects. There are adopted families, foster families, step- families and families with single mothers or fathers. I believe that family is whatever we want it to be and with whoever we want it to be. You can be related by blood, but it is love and loyalty that keeps a family together. Not every family fits the "norm" of what we think in society now and that is okay.

I come from divorced parents. After 16 years of marriage, my parents divorced when I was 8 years old. I was young then, so I did not understand the things I know now, about life, sacrifice, obstacles and unconditional love. At a young age, you never want to feel like another man or woman is trying to replace your other parent. You want the "normal" family you see on the sitcoms with a full family sitting around the dinner table talking about their days and laughing together. Just being happy and loving each other no matter the circumstances, no matter what obstacles come their way. As I got older, I realized that I would never want my parents to have just stuck together for my sister and I and been unhappy with their lives. Many families in this world stick together for their children, but are internally upset with the choices they have made. I'm sure my parents loved each other once and I bet it was hard to leave each other, but unfortunately people fall out of love. Every day that passes, we evolve into a better version of our selves and sometimes we need to leave things or people behind in order to grow.

Although my parents are not together, I always feel the same love and support from both of them. I have so much respect and admiration for the situation they were in and how they handled it so selflessly. These two people ended a marriage and still managed to be the best of friends. My father always said, "Kid, just because we got divorced, doesn't mean we divorced our family." I never understood how beautiful and selfless that was until I got older. When parents divorce, some fathers or mothers leave, or don't allow the other to see the children. I am so thankful I never had to deal with that kind of pain and my heart goes out to those have been in situations where you felt alone

I lived separately from my father for 5-6 years but throughout those years, my parents developed a better relationship than they did when they were married. It truly is the epitome of unconditional love. They always told my sister and I that we were the reason why they met, so that they could put us on this earth and we could be a family. No matter the obstacles that came our way, we always stuck together. After those years of living without my father, my parents decided that it was silly to live separately because of the amount of time we still spent together. You could imagine my confusion as a 12-year-old when my divorced parents told me that we were all moving back in together. It was a 3 family house, I lived upstairs with my mother, and my sister lived downstairs with my father. Honestly, it was the weirdest and best thing that ever happened to me. Many people in high school would be confused when I explained my situation to them, so I just told them I had a "functional dysfunctional family" and I wouldn't want it any other way.

I've never had a large family, but I felt more love from those two people than I could have ever felt from anyone else. I've had a lot of family come in and out of my life, which proved to me that even if you are blood related, it does't always mean what we hope. There are people who are put into your life for a reason. People who aren't related to you, but make you feel like family more than your actual family does. A family is a group of people that sticks together, no matter what happens. You stick together through the happiness and joy and stick together through the hurt and struggle.

At age 18, my family went through extreme pain when my grandfather was living with us and passed away in our home. He was my mothers father, who brought the wisdom and knowledge to my small family. Our family was slowly decreasing, so we learned to cherish every moment. My father was by my mom's side until the very end. It was truly admiring to witness. No matter the history, we are just destined to love certain people and make it our goal to make sure that they never have to go through obstacles alone.

I could never thank my parents enough for the countless sacrifices they have made to keep our family together. I thank them for never making me feel like my life was split in two. I always felt whole.I feel so grateful for that.

I thank them for showing me what it is like to be a strong person who needs to make decisions to better themselves and the people around them.

I thank them for never making me choose sides,

I thank them for teaching me the lesson that even if you love someone, it does not always mean they are meant for you,

I thank them for giving me a childhood full of happiness and love,

I thank my mom for teaching me to be a strong woman, with passion and an attitude to go after what I felt I deserved,

I thank my dad for teaching me to always keep a smile on my face and have a positive attitude and outlook on life,

I thank them for never flinching when things got tough.

I have learned so much about life and love and making sacrifices for those we love. I learned to never give up on someone, even when things get difficult. I learned to never accept less than I deserve, and to never base my happiness on the words and opinions of others. I learned to be strong and make choices that aren't always easy to make. I can say that coming from divorced parents made me stronger and taught me life lessons I will use in my future.

Divorce really isn't such a tragedy. A tragedy's staying in an unhappy marriage, teaching your children the wrong things about love. I thank my parents for breaking the typical stereotype of "divorced parents" and showing me what unconditional love is really like.

So, Thank you Mom & Dad for making me the woman I am today and never making me feel like I was alone

Your Daughter,

Gabriella