Italian families are known for being loud and crazy. For the first 11 years of my life there was little to no privacy, which happens when your cousins are your best friends and your aunts and uncles are just continuations of your parents. That happens when Nana and Papa know exactly what I got on my last geography test, and are willing to put it up on their "news" fridge so the whole family knows also. We were brought up to treat our grandparents like they deserve to be treated, and in result we united against anything that was threatening to the family. And now, at 19 years old I have some things to say...
Cousins: We range from 29 to 7 and I have never felt alone. When my siblings and I moved 3,000 miles away we thought our lives were over. No more Christmas Eve, no more movie premiers, no more Man Hunt. A few years later one of you followed us and we felt whole again. Thank you for always having my back and always reminding me that I have worth. I view all of you as the best role models I could have been blessed with, all of you have picked yourselves up and kept going and are now adults I only hope to be. To the little ones... Listen to the people you're growing up around the corner from. Never miss a family function, always go to school, always help out around the house, and realize that our parents know more about the world than we give them credit for. And more importantly, while us older cousins are all moving away and spreading out, remember that you can always seek refuge with us. Our doors are always open like your parents' doors were for us.
Aunts and Uncles: Many people grow up with only two parents, some with only one. I grew up with 12 at least. If my mom and dad weren't around and I was caught doing something stupid, you were going to punish me like your own and I appreciate that. You all were also the people I could go to when I felt no one else was around and I needed someone who had years behind them. You showed up for graduations, and ceremonies, reveling in our accomplishments like proud parents yourselves. You allowed us to hold our new baby cousins and scolded us when we were all too rowdy and loud. There are forever secrets the cousins and I have from you all, but you adopted a don't ask don't tell policy that we all appreciate in the end.
Mom and Dad: At the end of the day I am sitting at my desk in my dorm room typing this out because of you two. Sometimes I complain you are too hard on me, or that I just want to relax. Thank you for telling me I remind you of grandpa or grandma or nana or papa whenever I do something, or that I remind you of the other parent, because there is no one else I would rather be like. Thank you for care packages with socks and always making sure a dog was in the house. Thank you for telling me that guy wasn't worth it or reminding me to make good decisions, and forgiving me when I don't listen to any advice ever because I think I can do it.
Lastly, Nana and Papa: You two are the most important people in all of our lives. We live for you and strive to make you happy and proud. It was always our favorite part of the day when we would wake up to Dunkin Doughnuts because you knew we missed it. A calm comes through me whenever I walk in to that house I created so many memories in. So thank you, for giving me the best family I could have asked for, and for always believing us when we thought no one would.
I love you
