Family

How I define family and how's my relationship with it.

Family is a word with such a broad sense that, in my opinion, is difficult for everyone to define. In fact, it’s not easy writing about it but I guess I wanted to give you my perspective because lately I’ve been spending a lot of time in my hometown.

During this time, I realised how it is a fundamental part of my life and I could have never become the person I am today without it. I'll always put my family as my priority because of the vital role it played, and still plays, in my life. I find that family is not only about sharing the same name and blood, but also the importance you give to those individuals and vice versa. I think it’s always about supporting one another, therefore giving the strength and encouraging others to make the right choices in life and the most suitable according to the person’s needs. Although it’s hard to do so, especially pleasing everyone you love, it’s important to listen to them as they have your happiness at heart.

Family should also be about wishing the best for others: you want them to be truly happy and that’s why we are sometimes even defensive about it. We don’t want others to hurt our loved ones, even though we can’t protect them from everything and that’s upsetting. We need to understand that sometimes letting others go is the best choice as they would learn from their mistakes and therefore grow maturely and wisely. In fact, being family is not only about protecting but letting others experience the harsh truths of life for themselves, so they will be able to live more easily in this mad world. I guess that’s what life is about: making choices and either learn from them, if they turn out to be a mistake, or just be proud of them as they help you achieve the kind of person you want to be.

However, family is not only formed of people whom you go to when you need them, as they are not our psychologists, but it’s about always being there. In fact, when we think about family most of us only consider, at first, what they would do for us in case of an emergency or in difficult situations: we immediately direct our thoughts to the hard times we face when they're around. I guess that’s because we consider more important the role someone has in our lives when we are facing our worst times. This point of view is understandable as I realised that’s the first thing that came up in my mind as well, and I’m probably not the only one. Seems logic that those ones who will be with you at your worst will be the most loyal ones and therefore share with you best times of your life as well.

It’s too easy to consider as family those ones who will just hang out with you when you’re happy and having a good time. I consider mine as formed by people whom I can talk to 24/7 no matter what and they will listen to me and my problems, but with whom I can still share my happiest moments. As a matter of fact, my favourite parts of the year are when the holidays come around, so that I get to spend time with my family enjoying this kind of magical atmosphere. Even doing the simplest things, like watching TV or eating with them, feels so special because we get to share our thoughts and I realise that we don’t need that much to be truly happy, but just being with the right people makes you feel so much better.

Thanks for reading!