Blood is Not Required

My family is huge: Aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews, nieces, brothers, sisters, and mom and dad. A lot of people believe that this is where it ends. This is one of the biggest things that I disagree with.

My neighbor, Kyle, who has been my mentor for as long as I can remember is just as much of a brother to me as my biological brothers, Andy and Mike. While growing up I was always the target of my brothers’ teasing. During that period I always went to Kyle for advice knowing I could get straight answers from him without being picked on or made fun of.

There is an unwritten law that says that relatives have to care about you. This doesn’t hold true with friends. You have to earn their trust and love. If you do this however, you can trust that you have somebody to lean on and back you up. They are there when you need to talk and be objective.

This doesn’t mean that your biological family is not important. There will always be situations that you get in and need your family to huddle around you and help you out. There are very few things your family and friends can’t help you with, and for the stuff they con, you can trust their support.

There is probably some fancy definition for family, but to me family means a group of people who generally care for you. Friends can give you advice, you can learn from their mistakes, and you can know you have someone there for you. These things can also work in reverse. You can help your friends and family out of situations and problems.

Your family can grow indefinitely if you will let it. The saying “the more the merrier” is especially true when it comes to friends and family. Nobody can ever get close to surviving life without friends. If you do somehow manage to do it, then I can safely assume that it was a lonely life. Without friends and family life is boring and hard.