We. Are. Family!

Hello fellow readers,

Family can often be a blessing… or not. Due to Thanksgiving - the holiday meant 

for family - I thought I’d talk about family today. Now, if you grew up in a broken 

home or with a single parent, this may not be a post you would like to read and I 

completely understand if you choose not to continue because I don’t want to 

make you feel miserable for not having what I was lucky to have.

I have an amazing immediate family. I grew up in a household of 4, and it was an 

interesting dynamic because my sister and I are 7 years apart and my mom stayed 

home to take care of us until I started kindergarten. Even though my dad worked 

full-time for most of my childhood, I still have a lot of good memories with him. 

Actually, I have a lot of great memories with my family, period.

My parents raised me and my sister so well that I often reflect on what they did so 

that I can do the same in the future. They taught us to be respectful not just to our 

elders, but to everyone and, especially, to each other. Another thing my parents 

taught us was to communicate. We used to have “family meetings” often to discuss 

what we wanted to do over the weekend or if something needed to be done what 

the plan was - we continue to have “family meetings” using conference calls.

One thing that I appreciate my parents taught us was to work and save for what 

we wanted. My sister and I never got rewarded for good grades with money, 

instead, we worked to get good grades simply to see the pride our parents 

displayed. We loved making our parents proud and hated disappointing them. 

This concept affect the decisions I make. When I was out with friends and was 

tempted to do something that I shouldn’t, I often thought to myself would my 

parents be disappointed if I did this? If the answer was “yes” then I chose not to 

do it. If the answer was “hell yes” then I definitely needed to reconsider what was 

going on or get out. 

The true testament to the strength of my family was when I was a freshman in 

high school; my dad got laid off that year. We sat down as a family and made 

some major changes in our lifestyle. We cut back on a lot of things like eating out 

or going to do things like bowling. We decided not to renew our Disneyland 

annual passes and focused on budgeting our money for food. My sister got a job 

and starting pitching in for expenses, and though I couldn’t contribute, I did my 

best not to ask for what we couldn’t have. Even through the difficult times, my 

family stayed close. In fact, we think that we grew closer because of it. We got to 

spend more time indoors either playing games, watching movies, or, as my dad 

called it, “talking about life.” My family can sit down at the dinner table and talk 

for hours, and now that my sister and I are older, we have deeper conversations.

 My wonderful family at my graduation

I know not all families have the luxuries that I had growing up. I was lucky to 

have both my parents stay together, a sister that took care of me and who I got 

along with, and a roof over my head. Nowadays, there are so many broken 

families, single parents, and the cost of living here in California is ridiculously high 

that one job is just not enough. If you’re in one of these situations, I’m sorry to rub 

my “perfect” family in your face, but - as cliche as this may sound - on the bright 

side, this is when you start to find your real friends.

I’ve heard a lot of my friends tell me that they have a group of friends they consider 

their family. It’s the reason behind all the holidays being celebrated with friends 

rather than family (friendsgiving and the like), friends are much easier to handle 

sometimes. They understand who you are and how you are. They’ll be there for 

you through thick and thin and will support you through it all. These qualities are 

what define a family (in my opinion). I have a lot of different groups of friends. I 

have a group of friends from church, high school, college, chemistry, and swing 

dancing. Though I am friends with all these people, and I love them dearly, I don’t 

feel the need to have these friend-holidays because I have such an incredible, 

immediate family. If it’s just the four of us, it’s a magnificent day.

Lately, our family now includes mine and my sister’s significant others. It was key 

for my sister and I to find boyfriends who understood how close our family is 

because family always comes first, no matter what. (Keep in mind, this is just my 

immediate family - no parental siblings or grandparents)

Thank you for reading till the end, and I hope this post has allowed you to reflect 

on your own family. I hope you enjoy the upcoming holidays with those you love 

like family.

Live every day to the fullest.

Love, Damaris

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