Just because someone is your family by blood, does not give them an automatic pass to remain in your life. Family can be created and if someone does not treat you well, you do not have to put up with it forever.

Sure when you are younger you, in a way, are told what to do, and can't make every decision on your own, but once you have hit a certain age and gather a sense of maturity, decisions are yours to make. This includes how you will handle certain situations, and who you choose to surround yourself with.

People I have met just a short time ago have proven to be better influences in my life than my own family members. As I am growing older, I realize that not everyone who is in your life is meant to stay in your life. And yes, this includes family.

As you grow as an individual, you hold different expectations and goals for your future, and not everyone in your life will meet those standards. That is totally ok.

I wholeheartedly believe that family is what you make it to be. Some people come from broken blood families, and eventually find their forever family in their friend group or in a significant other.

Just because you are born into a family, does not mean that they will all act like family and have your best interest in mind.

Some people will be extremely offended by this and judge what I am saying, but not everyone has a good upbringing and just because they do not speak to all of their family, does not make them in the wrong. Not everyone is meant to get along, and a person can only put up with so much before a breaking point is reached.

We don't know what happens when we die, whether there is an afterlife or if we simply enter an eternal sleep, and because of that we need to make the most of the one life that we know we have.

In order to make the most of the time we have here on earth we need to surround ourselves with people we love and who have our best interests at heart. People who can help us progress and become a better version of ourselves instead of holding us back or bringing out negative characteristics/qualities.

I have love for so many people, and I consider a lot of my close friends to be family, but I am also outgrowing certain family members. I believe that this is normal and that some relationships, if valuable to your life, can be mended in the future, but a part of life is maturing and with that includes outgrowing certain people, no matter who they are.

Some family we do not get a choice of, but who we choose to add to make up our family in the end is entirely up to us.