I spent New Year’s Eve with 12 people. I was sitting on the stairs with one of my “sisters” and we could see the kids playing dominos in the living room and the parents playing cards in the dining room. My “sister” Molly looks at the living room and the dining room and then looks at me and says, “Hannah, just think this is going to be us in 10 years. We will be old, probably married with kids of our own, and sitting and playing cards with the adults.” I thought about it for a while, and she’s right. I know that will be us. We will all be together at some point or another and will still be friends. This scene, these people, they are my second family.
My second family consists of three families who care about each other like they are one. There are three sets of parents and six kids. We spend almost every Friday together at Culver's and much more time than just that. I can’t imagine my life without them. It’s funny to think about what my life was like before having any of them. I like to look back and realize that a majority of my life’s biggest moments have more than one of my second family members, if not all of them. It’s amazing to me to think that only 12 people can change my life so much.
They are the people that will console you when no one else is there. They will be brutally honest with you when you need to hear it. But at the same time, they will love you always and forever. There is no doubt in my mind that these people will be a part of my life for the rest of it. They are the people that will be there in a blink of an eye. When you need something in a very short period of time, they are the people you ask to help you.
They are the people who you experience many of your “firsts” and “lasts" with. We all experience first days of school, first and last sporting games, graduation, first party, last day at home before college and finally first year at college. These are all things that I was able to experience with these people. My first days of school were shared with all of these people at one year or another. I always played sports with one of the members of my second family. Through these years, I was able to experience my first and last games and all the emotions that went into them. Graduation was a tough day for me. I was finishing high school with a lot of people I was starting with, but at the same time, I was finishing without some that I started with. That was the day I realized I was leaving all of these amazing people for a year. My second family are who got me through it because I knew they would always be there. My first party can probably explain itself. My last day at home before college was hard for me. I was leaving for a year, but I was able to see my entire second family before I left. It was an emotional time in a Culver's parking lot. Finally, my first year of college was hard to begin with. They helped me through it. I was home every other weekend, and my second family made my transition much easier.
If you don’t have a second family yet, I promise one day you will find yours. You will know right away that they are truly your family. There is no difference between a second family and your real family because love is what makes a family, not blood. I love you all.
