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To My Self-Made Family

Thank you for keeping me grounded, and loving me, even when I don't deserve it.

Payton Leigh Taylor

Oct 10, 2016

University of New Hampshire

Dear My Self Made Family -

The technical definition of family is “a group consisting of parents and children living together in a household”. That’s blood family, and as important as that is, it’s not the definition that pertains to every type of family.

As you grow up, you have to begin to create your own family. When in college, you have roommates you aren’t related to, you make friends who originated from hundreds of miles away, and your blood family is however far away. The need for love and affection is still just as needed as when you were a child living at home, so you find people to emulate the people that you are missing. This takes time, because family is special, so you need to find the right people in order to fill up your heart in just the right way. I’m lucky, and I’ve found that family already.

So thank you, because you few know who you are. You are the people I go to for anything, whether it be a good grade on a test, a bad day, a fight with a friend, a stomach ache, anything. You are the ones who give me a high five for the test, a hug for the bad day, advice for the fight, and the one who brings ginger ale and chicken noodle soup to my dorm from the dining hall and stay until I feel better.

You are the ones that I trust to keep me grounded and safe, you are the ones that I love through the fights and the good days. So I need to thank you, for a lot of things. Thank you for:

The times that you have stayed up with me late into the night, making sure I’m okay, whether it’s a stomach ache or a bad heart break.
The adventures we have gone on, whether they end with stupid laughs and jokes, amusement parks, long car rides, or anywhere else we have ended up.
The times you stopped me from doing stupid things like skip homework or not study hard enough for a test.

I don’t know, maybe I’m rambling. But all I know is, without my self-made family, I would be going crazy in this big, crazy world. So thank you for keeping me sane, keeping me happy, and making me love you three more than anyone I have ever met.

With all my heart,

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To My Self-Made Family

Thank you for keeping me grounded, and loving me, even when I don't deserve it.

Subscribe to our Newsletter

I get it... I'm pale.

1. At least I can't lose you in a crowd!

2. Oh my goodness your skin is like glow-in-the-dark.

3. Can't you just get fake tan?

4. Do you tan or just burn?

5. Your kids are going to look like Casper the Friendly Ghost!

6. *holds arm against your arm* Look how much darker I am compared to you!

7. *holds pale arm against another pale arm* Aw, at least you're darker than her!

8. I laid out by the pool almost every day over break!

9. I haven't used sunscreen since I was, like, five.

10. *adjusts selfie lighting to their face* Oops, where'd you go??

11. *after working out* Your face is SO red!

12. *wears white* Look! You're all one color!

13. You need to get some sun.

14. Aren't you excited for summer?

The struggle bus is real.

1. Child prodigies:

2. Hearing other musicians in the practice room next door and accepting that you will never be as talented as them:

3. That anxiety that takes over before every performance:

4. Taking a million 0 credit classes:

5. When there's a paper due the next day, but you have to attend yet another concert in order to pass a 0 credit class:

6. When your friends try to encourage you after a performance, even though you are criticizing everything in your mind:

7. Knowing that there's always that one professor during juries:

8. The oh-so-attractive band/choir uniforms:

9. Realizing that a college campus is maybe not the best atmosphere to finish your latest composition:

10. Hearing "Oh, you sing opera? I LOVE Phantom of the Opera!" for the hundredth time:

11. When people think finals week is a breeze for you.

12. When you're drowning in the stress that comes with 18+ credits (and not to mention all those 0 credit classes) and people ask you how you are:

13. When it all comes down to it, though, you know that at the end of the day, music is your passion:

We don't buy into these... just like how we don't buy our friends.

8. "The whole philanthropy thing isn't real, right?"

7. "I don't need to buy my friends."

6. "Oh, so I'll bet you love to drink."

5. "Can you tell me some of your secrets?"

4. "What do you do at your meetings?"

3. "Do you guys haze really badly?"

2. "Is it just like in the movies?"

1. "Sororities are so basic."

There are plenty of obstacles that come when taking care of kids, but it's a very rewarding experience.

1. You get excited when the parents purchase season passes to the pool.

2. You've become friends with the stay-at-home moms in town.

3. You get a chance to eat "kid foods" again.

4. You've traded in your cute purse for a large tote bag.

5. You have at least one car seat in your backseat.

6. Their nap time is your happy time.

7. Lunch time can be a disaster.

8. You have to play the same board games repeatedly.

9. You catch yourself using the same lines your parents once told you.

10. Your "mom-mode" kicks in at times.

11. Your heart melts a little when they do something cute.

You'll never find any souvenirs with your name on it

1. You know you are up next when the teacher pauses while taking attendance

2. When “I’m going to do my very best to make sure I know all your names” is said, it may or may be an empty promise

3. “Wow! That sounds so cool! Where is your family from?”

4. You dread when people ask you to repeat your name over and over because it “sounds so cool when you say it”

5. There’s a 50/50 chance that your name will come back either correct or incorrect at Starbucks

6. People try to find shorter, easier nicknames for you instead of calling you by your actual name

7. When someone famous or fictional character shares your name, you get so happy

8. “What’s your name?” “It’s [name]” “I’m sorry, what was it again?”

9. You’ve pretty much seen every misspelling and heard every mispronunciation of your name throughout your life

10. When you find another person with an “ethnic” sounding name, you both get excited

11. Despite the struggles, your name is pretty unique… just like you

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6. holds arm against your arm Look how much darker I am compared to you!

7. holds pale arm against another pale arm Aw, at least you're darker than her!

10. adjusts selfie lighting to their face Oops, where'd you go??

11. after working out Your face is SO red!

12. wears white Look! You're all one color!