Once upon a time, a little girl lived in a tiny white house with her mom, dad, and older brother. Her father taught the little girl that, as long as they were together as a family, they'd be happy forever. This lesson was proven to be false as unhappiness and mistreatment filled the household and the family's hearts. Anger consumed the father, anxiety and nervousness filled the mother's mind to the point where she felt like she was drowning, the brother disappeared from the family's sight and rarely reappeared when he needed to assist them, and the lonely little girl realized that these people didn't act like the families she'd see on TV- the kinds that laughed together, cried together, and loved each other unconditionally. Cruelty and coldness consumed the family, but, as she had learned, blood is thicker than water; her blood relatives rate higher in her life than anyone else. So she willed herself to love them all, though, in her heart, she knew she couldn't force herself to care about them.
While she grew up, she found friends who remained with her from elementary school to junior year of high school. They comforted each other during tough times and praised each other during the good times. When one friend needed advice, they asked the group for help and gained new knowledge from their feedback. The friends hung out at the local park and ate dinner together if it was late and they could all afford McDonald's. The amount of teasing and encouragement they gave each other made an outsider feel uncomfortable and keep their distance, but the group didn't mind. They gave out warmth and happiness in their laughs and smiles, unlike the relatives the now teenage girl lived with inside the tiny white house. This group of misfits she considered them the family she always dreamed to have.
Isn't it amazing how a family can consist of people who are not blood related? The story in the introduction explains how I came to realize the word family is different from how we commonly know it as.