When life hands you lemons, you make lemonade.

I was 17 years old when my parents began separating. I was a senior in high school and everything I had known to be true about my family and the dynamics of my family were rapidly crumbling around me. At first, I was angry, pissed, furious, all of the above. Then I was sad and I would find myself driving home late at night trying to hold back the tears. I didn't want to let myself believe it was true, but it was. I can't even begin to explain the various emotions I would feel on any given day about this. I was stressed, I was hurt, and even though I wasn't physically alone...emotionally I was.

Growing up, I was always one of the only ones of my friends whose parents were still married. Most of my friends' parents had divorced when they were much younger. I was happy to get to come home to one house each and every day with both of my parents and my happy little family was doing just fine. When I found out about the divorce and the separation, I immediately thought of the numerous changes that would happen to my life. I wouldn't get to celebrate holidays with both of my parents at one time, I wouldn't get to see them both at the same time on my birthday, or come home to them ready to have family dinner.

Three years later, here I am stronger than ever. I learned how to accept the circumstances. I learned how to understand that sometimes, two people aren't right for each other. Sometimes love changes and sometimes you have no control over it. I have two sets of parents now, ones by blood and ones by marriage. My parents are happier than ever and it shows through every single day. I wouldn't change anything for the world. It was tough, the divorce. But it was worth it. I struggled and had ups and downs with my family during the divorce. But if they are not happy together, why make their lives hell just for my own benefit? Life is short, life is crazy, but everyone deserves to be happy.

I got handed some real sour lemons with my parents' divorce. I can only look back on it and shrug it off. Yeah, it hurt like hell, but here I am with my amazing, loving parents by my side and two more that love me for me and encourage me.

This was first a story of how I overcame my parents' divorce, but it's also a story about how thankful I am for them. How thankful I am that I have two loving parents. How thankful I am for the people who make their days brighter and make their love grow. Thank you, for always being the person to help pick them up on rough days and to love me as one of your own.

No matter how hard it was, I made lemonade out of my lemons. I picked myself up and saw that everyone deserves the kind of sweet love my parents have now.