In the current day and age, family is so rarely considered to be restricted to only the group of people who raised you and who share the same gene pool as you. In fact, nowadays there are more cases than ever where one's biological family does nothing for them, leaving them to find familial affection elsewhere. This is where we find ourselves today.

Your biological family isn't always what you wish it could be.

The thing with this is that not everyone can relate. Plenty of people grow up in healthy households that have never seen any real conflict or strife, and I salute those of you who were that lucky. However, I and many others find that our upbringing left something to be desired, to say the least, leading us to want to find that connection from someone else.

The idea of family should be a group of people who you feel completely comfortable opening up to, who you can be yourself with and feel safe with in the midst of this harsh world. If the parents who created you can't offer you this sense of protection, that's okay. Someone else will as soon as they see what's truly amazing about you.

What would the ideal family environment be?

For me, it's the idea of walking into a cozy, inviting home each day after working hard (whether at school or work) and being surrounded by loving people. They'll ask how your day was, listen to your stories, and offer serious advice, then turn around and tease you over small inside jokes. Maybe you'll play a game together, or maybe you'll spend the entire night just talking about anything and everything.

This is the goal for many of us as we go through our education and seek out our futures with the families we hope to create, but there is so much to be done before we can get there.

Blood does not define family.

In some situations, your biological family is perfect, and you couldn't ask for anything more. Maybe the above example of the family I desire is the same as the one you want, despite seeming unattainable. Maybe you feel comfortable with parts of your family but not others, leaving you dissatisfied and confused. I've felt it all.

Despite my personal circumstances, I was blessed to live very close to a family that loves and respects each other in such a way as I had only dreamed of. I've known them my entire life, but within the last few years especially, they have taken me under their wing and really made me feel like a part of a family that understands the importance of the whole just as much as the individual parts. I'll never be thankful enough for that, and it goes to show the entire point of this article - family isn't about blood.

Family is about love. The kind that can't be broken over petty fights and misunderstandings. The kind that forgives and learns and grows from negative experiences while cherishing the positive. It's not wrong to want that, and it's okay to admit that it isn't what you're receiving.

You can't choose where you will be born into this world or from whom, but the decision of what kind of people you wish to surround yourself with and feel at home around is completely up to you. Nobody gets to choose for you, but when the right group of people comes around, they will be more than happy to accept you.