Pay Attention To The Little Things

Family

When you’re a child, family is defined as you, your parents, and whatever siblings you have. It eventually expands to include your grandparents, uncles, great aunts, 2nd cousins twice removed, and anyone else who happens to share a sliver of your family name or blood. But then you reach an age where family seems to expand beyond what any dictionary could define it as. Lifetime friends are now “cousins” or “sisters” and role models who have shaped your childhood are easier to call “aunts” or “uncles” than explain that they are more like family than half the people who share your blood.

My family was broken, shattered, and pried apart. But the pieces have been gathered, reassembled, and pieced back together to create a new picture, a new structure. Some of the original pieces have been lost, but they have replaced and new additions have been added.

Until I came to college, I never fully understood how a select amount of friends could become family. It’s easy to be friends with people in high school. You see them every day: Go to class, eat lunch, join the same clubs, and do the same after school activities. College eliminates any previous structure you may have had and the only relationships that survive are the ones where both parties put in a significant amount of effort. It’s sad to admit that the only reason most of your friendships existed is because of a common schedule and geographical location.

But once it’s realized that the friendships that persevered are genuine, strong, and aren’t being eliminated, it’s like all the clutter has been eliminated from your life. Room has been made for new friendships, friendships with new standards. Relationships now require more than just a common class or after school activity and these new standards are what transforms friends into family.

You Don’t Have To Look Like Friends To Be Friends

                  

Words of Wisdom

Caine’s Arcade

9 year old Caine Monroy, who built an elaborate cardboard arcade inside his dad’s used auto parts store, is about to have the best day of his life.

A short film by Nirvan, produced by Interconnected.

Download Caine’s Arcade Theme Song by Juli Crockett (all proceeds benefit the Caine’s Arcade Foundation to help find, foster, and fund creativity and entrepreneurship in more kids like Caine!)

I Love You Means…

I Will Be Me