To my family and friends (and my friends that are like family),

Thank you. I love you.

No family is perfect, and friends are the family you choose. These two clichés have a lot of truth behind them, one of which is when friends are more like family. I have several hundred aunts that are actually just friends of my mothers. These powerful women have collectively raised me to be the strong and independent woman that I am today. Whether we handpicked a few people to stay in our lives forever, they consciously made that decision, too. Or sometimes we are stuck with annoying siblings, who are actually your best friends. These people are our family, for better and for worse. There is always such a strange force that brings family together when you need them the most. Under horrible circumstances, my family has always been there for me, even hundreds and thousands of miles away. And when I do come home, it always seems like a never-ending stream of people coming to say hi, and I love it.

Thankfully, modern technology has made great advancements when it comes to keeping in contact, from phone calls and texts to Skype and FaceTime. Whenever my family needs me, I will always be just a phone call away.

I moved out from my parents’ house and into a different country at the age of 16, and you’d think I’d be homesick a bit more often. However, a weekend at home can sometimes be all that I need to last me until the next time I visit. The comfort of home and the sweet hugs and hellos quickly wind down and the crazy picks up not long after. When you say you are going home to catch up on sleep and get fed, that quickly turns into staying up all night talking with your siblings, or finally having that Hallmark beer with your dad because you are an adult now. Getting fed is soon up to you to hunt through the kitchen in between visiting your grandparents and going to your cousin’s graduation. There will always be food there too, but surviving off finger sandwiches and cookies only gets you so far.

As much as I love my family and friends, sometimes we need a little space, too.

I promise I’ll come home more often, but being surrounded by people who constantly love and support you can be a bit much. The world is cold, and can sometimes be cruel, but having a comfy bed to look forward to and the warm embrace of loved ones is what gets me out of bed in the morning so that I can try my best to put as much love into the world as my family has put into me.