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Family Over Everything

Don't take them for granted.

Lily Rudnick

Nov 21, 2016

University of California, Santa Barbara

308

We Know Your Dreams

This past weekend I went home for my cousin’s wedding. I spent Friday at the rehearsal dinner, Saturday at the wedding, and Sunday at the post-wedding brunch. It’s safe to say that I am completely exhausted, bummed I have to head back up to school for a day and a half before returning for Thanksgiving, and just all around beat. It has been a long, hectic few days, but, it has also been some of the most fun days I have had in a long time.

Being with my family, I feel so incredibly lucky. So lucky to have such amazing people in my life, as a support system, as friends, and as a place of unconditional love. I know that some people are not as lucky to have a family like mine, so close and so full of love. If I have learned just one thing in my 19 years of life it is this:

Family is everything. Family will be there for you in the good times and the bad, the ups and the downs, and everything in between. Taking for granted your family is the worst thing you could possibly do, because one day they won’t all be there anymore.

I grew up in a big family, a family where Sunday night family get-togethers were prominent, and it was rarer to not see an extended family member than to see them. It wasn’t until coming to college that I really began to realize how lucky I am to have the relationships with my family that I do. So many people I have met don’t know most of their cousins, or don’t really see much of their aunts, uncles, grandparents, or cousins very much, and that makes me sad.

I will never be able to express my gratitude, love, and appreciation enough to my family members. Each and every one of them individually has made my life better, even if it was just by making me laugh, supporting a decision I made, or just hanging out together.

My family is and will always be my world. I will always put them first above anything and anyone else, no matter what. Every moment with them is something that I will always cherish and never take for granted because again, you never know what could happen and one day they will be gone. But for now, just being able to live in the moment with them is all I need.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.

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Family Over Everything

Don't take them for granted.

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All names should be "unisex names."

1. Communicating via email can be awkward.

2. Appointments usually accompany weird looks.

3. Introducing yourself to someone is never without a hitch.

4. You’ve probably thought about changing your name.

5. You’re often asked why you have the name you do.

6. You get excited when you meet someone of your gender with your name.

7. You feel awkward when you meet someone of the opposite gender with your name.

8. You’ve had someone say to you, “I knew a [your name], but they were [your opposite gender].”

9. You’ve heard a bad joke/pick-up line or two about your name before.

10. People are surprised when they see you.

11. You’re extra sensitive to other unique or unisex names.

12. You’ve fought with your parents about it.

13. All things considered, you’re happy your name makes you unique.

You know that all of these things apply to you. You'll just never tell.

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:

Because you need it in your life.

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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!