Family comes in all different shapes and sizes. Family can be a blood relation, someone you came into this world with a special connection. Someone you met before you could even walk.

However, family can also be a group of people who unconditionally love you. Family can be people that you have met throughout your lifetime who have impacted you in a positive and meaningful way.

For me, I'm blessed with a few different families. I've got my family through blood, who are so amazing in every single way and I would not be where I am today without them. I've got the family that I will gain in a little over a year when I say "I Do" to the man of my dreams and I am so thankful to be marrying into such a loving family. And I've got what I frequently call my "Iowa Family." This side of the family looks a little bit different. We aren't related, we don't look alike, we haven't known each other since we could walk... But they are my family.

My "Iowa Family" consists of an amazing group of friends I met while attending Waldorf College. After graduation, I made the difficult decision to move back to Michigan to find a job. Within a month, my job search led me right back to small-town Iowa, and right back to my friends in Iowa. It wasn't until I moved back to Iowa the second time that I realized this group of people had become more than friends to me: They had become my family. They helped me take the first steps into adulthood. They helped me move into my first ever apartment. They helped me overcome my first year of teaching. They have sat on a couch with me multiple times while I've cried over a problem I was facing. They've celebrated every holiday with me, every birthday, every special occasion. They've celebrated my accomplishments and have been there through my frustrations and moments where I felt my life was going downhill. This group of friends was had become a family to me.

Here are nine ways how I knew this group of friends had become my family:

1. We've built traditions.

There are so many traditions that we have established together and they are some of my favorite moments throughout the year. We have a tradition of going all out and celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving, just because one of the members of the family is Canadian. We all bring over appetizers and meet together to watch the Super Bowl. We celebrate Christmas a week or two early, before we all go our separate ways to separate states to visit our hometowns and our "blood relatives." We go to the same small town restaurant, pick a huge table in the back and get rowdy whenever we are celebrating a birthday or other special occasion. I live for these traditions.

2. We have an open door policy and an open fridge policy.

It's gotten to a point where I don't even knock anymore. I just walk into their homes. Their fridge is also fair game. I'm thirsty? Oh look, they just went grocery shopping. Thanks for loading your fridge with beer. It's much appreciated.

3. We would do absolutely anything for one another.

I can't tell you how many times I've called or texted them asking for a favor. Whenever I need something, no matter how big the task is, they will do it without a question. "Hey, umm... my car won't start. And I'm in the Casey's parking lot, can you give me a jump?" Sometimes I don't even have to ask and they know exactly what I need. "Oh you're fiancé is gone, come over for dinner because I know you are just going to eat cereal and sit on the couch." Thanks for always having my back and for taking care of my plant, Jeff, while I go to Michigan for the summer. Also, thanks for watching over my apartment, even though I know I'll come back to one hundred sticky notes covering it.

4. I miss them. Even if I've just been gone a week.

This doesn't need to be explained. Anytime I'm away from them, I feel the need to text, snapchat, share an obnoxious amount of videos to their walls via Facebook and whatever else I can manage to do to feel as if they are right by my side.

5. We've watched each other grow.

We've helped each other survive the first stages of adulthood and that is really the time where we helped catch each other the most. We've seen each other date somebody who didn't deserve them. We've watched relationships grow and lead to the desire to spend forever with one another. We've watched the beginning of careers. We've watched the failures, the successes, the heartbreaks, the accomplishments—everything. We've been there for one another through it all. They've watched me get my heart broken, perform in my last play in college, graduate with two degrees; they've watched me fall in love and say yes to spending forever with the man of my dreams; they've watched me survive my first two years of teaching; they've watched the first play I've ever directed; they've been there for so many life changing moments that helped me grow into the person I am today.

6. We aren't afraid to be brutally honest.

Sometimes I think you're just being a jerk. Luckily, we're family and I can just tell you that you are being a jerk and have no hard feelings because I'll know that one day you'll look at me and tell me to knock it off. They will tell me when I'm being over dramatic, when I need to breathe and when I've succeeded.

7. We are protective of one another.

I know I would do anything to ensure their happiness. I would do anything to make sure they always feel loved and I know they would do absolutely anything to keep me safe and happy. Whether it be being protective of me because someone broke my heart or whether I'm sick and you make sure I'm not dying and bring me tea that you know I won't drink because I hate tea and I'm stubburn. You're there for me.

8. We appreciate each other strengths and quirks.

We have so many different personality quirks and since we've been together for so long, we know the quirks and the strengths of each and every one of us. I know who to go to when my car won't start, who to go to when I need someone to work out with, who to go to when I don't understand how to build my new bookshelf, who to go to when I need a hug or to talk or who to go to when I'm bored and need to find something to do. They know to come to me when they ripped the seam of their pants for the third time, when they need help baking or when they need to rant or get advice about their relationship.

9. Most importantly, when I think about my future, I couldn't image my life without them.

It's hard to imagine where we all could be in five or ten years. We've all got big dreams. We all could be starting families. We all could start new professions, start a new job, take an opportunity and move. There are so many possibilities ahead of us, but wherever we are, whether we live in the apartment next door, a block away or across the United States from one another, I know they'll always be my family. They'll always be a part of my life and I couldn't be more lucky to have such a great group of friends that have become family.

So to my Iowa family, thank you. You'll never understand how much you mean to me and how much I love you.