The vast majority of my teen/young adult peers have some sort of family problems, myself included.

I hear about it all the time from my friends, classmates, people I pass in the halls, problems they have with their mom or dad or how much they hate their sister or brother or how crazy their cousin is or something along those lines.I'm guilty of speaking this way too, all the time. We spend so much time with our family members so we inevitably get to see the worst side of them, and we often focus on this too much.

Also, spending so much time with someone and knowing them so well can really cause you to butt heads at some point. No one has a perfect family without any conflict, no one. And we hold our parents and siblings to high standards, expecting them to be whatever our idea of the perfect parent or sibling is and getting upset whenever they don't live up to those expectations. I completely understand what families go through, where frustration and conflict come from and I know it's totally valid to have issues with your family members.

All that being said, I think people, specifically young people, tend to take their family for granted and aren't thankful enough for the people in our lives. If you asked me a few years ago, I would've disagreed. I hated how much my family fought, I thought we were all better off separate, I thought I'd be content without them, maybe seeing them every now and then, but that's all. Then, two big changes happened in my life.

My parents got divorced, and I moved out of state for college. I can't tell you how much my perspective on family has changed because of these changes. There was so much that I gained from living with my family that I never once noticed, until it was gone. And I don't just mean having someone to go grocery shopping for you or do your laundry, which was of course nice, but I'm talking about a certain feeling of safety and happiness and security that only comes from being surrounded by love, and everyone you care about being in the same place at the same time.

As hard as it can be to get along with your family, they're your family, and you're lucky to have them, even with all their flaws. Because family is not something everyone has. My family has been so harshly impacted by divorce, and I can't even imagine how it must feel for those who have lost a family member who passed away. This past year on Christmas Eve (which also happens to be my birthday) I had to say goodbye to my mom and leave her to stay in her apartment alone. On Christmas Eve. I had to separate from one of the people who means the most to me in the world, and leave her alone, and if I hadn't done that, I would've had to do the same to my dad, and it would hurt just as bad. I wish I could go back, just once, to any year and feel the same feeling again, of falling asleep on Christmas Eve night and feeling totally content, knowing everyone I loved was close by, and we were all safe and together and no one was sad or alone.

I didn't know, all those Christmases, how lucky I was.

In this situation, my sisters have become my lifeline. They are the constant in my life. We bicker on an almost daily basis, but I also have two built in best friends at all times. Back when we all lived together, i took that for granted too. Nowadays, when I return to my college dorm after a long day of school, it's just me. I mean, sometimes my roommate is here too, and I could always go talk to my friends, but what about when they're the problem and I need to vent about my friends, or just need a distraction from them an to be reminded that there are great people out there who love me and are gonna be my friends for life, whether they like it or not?

My sisters were always my go to, my best distraction, guaranteed to make me laugh and be on my side, usually. I also have a good amount of friends now who don't have good relationships with their siblings and they make me realize how lucky I am, how good I have it, and that I should really treasure what I have with my sisters. I am only one person of course, and one example, and there are millions more out there like me, who don't have their family in the way they wish they did, and many who have been through much worse than me-who have lost their family members tragically, or maybe never knew certain family members at all, and so this is a message to those of you who are lucky enough to have your family members by your side, under your roof, despite their flaws, despite what they put you through, despite any drama, please cherish them, love them, and be thankful for them. You truly never know what will happen next in life, and your future self will thank you for it.