From the very beginning your family is there for you when you need them. They support you, help you when you need guidance, and shape you into the person you will one day become. Eventually, you'll start to branch off on your own and your family will remain important but can no longer guide you in the same way. You must make your own decisions and deal with consequences on your own. This all comes with growing up. Your mom can't make your doctors appointments for you anymore, and your cousins aren't down the road to hang out with when you're bored. Instead you have to go to work and shop for groceries.
Long gone are the days of nap time, nowadays you're up to your neck in essays, bills, and late night shifts at work. By the time you get home, you're too tired to finish your assignments but failing a class this close to graduating is not an option. Living like this can be stressful, yet it's something every person on the planet has gone through at some point in varying degrees of difficulty. These are the moments your family will be there for you. Late night, tear filled phone calls, and weekend trips home to cure stress are vital to surviving these stressful times.
Friends and family that support you through these hard and confusing times is key to staying sane and make it through the long nights. The unconditional love and patience you receive from your family keeps you going even when you think things can't get any worse, and the laughs and memories you'll make with your friends are the frame for the stories you'll get to tell later on about the times you had growing up. To all my friends and family, thank you for everything you've done for me this far, I honestly could not have made it here on my own.
To my family, thank you for supporting all my interests and hobbies through the years. I appreciate all the advice, guidance and strength you've given me. You are the only ones who know me like the backs of your hands, and prove to me the importance of loving your family and being close to them. I have learned true agape, unconditional love from all of you. I am grateful for all the wisdom I've been given from all of you, and for the inside jokes we will always have.
To my friends, thank you for being by my side when I've needed you most. Whether I've known you from middle school, or met you recently in college, your open advice and your support has not gone unnoticed or underappreciated. Thank you for being there during all the laughs and for wiping the tears that have fallen. You've become my family away from my family and I wouldn't want to have it any other way.
