I am the oldest of five children. In total, there are seven people in my immediate family. My dad is the youngest of five children, and three of the four of his siblings have larger families themselves. On my mother's side, my aunt and uncle have three of their own children.

No matter which side of the family we are spending time with, we are guaranteed to fill the room. When both sides combine, there are enough bodies to fill a small village.

Being a part of a large family, both immediate and extended, has its perks.

1. There is always a cheering section.

It does not matter if its a music concert, theatre production, sports event or graduation, you will always have a loud, dedicated cheering section.

2. You never run out of food at picnics.

Missed getting the mac and cheese at the 4th of July BBQ? Not to worry, there are probably two or three other pans waiting to be dug into.

3. Your family can make their own sports team...or two.

There is no need to make your own community team for volleyball, soccer, or softball because you already have more than enough players at your disposal.

4. There is always a party to go to.

Graduation, birthday, engagement, baby shower... When you are part of a large family, there is always something going on.

5. Family is always there to lend a hand.

Broken down? Call your brother. Need to put a new roof on your house? Call your cousins. Traveling to a new country? Call your uncle who has connections in that country. When you're part of a large family, we all lend a hand from simple solutions to big fixes.

There are countless other reasons why being a part of a large family rocks. While there definitely downsides to having so many relatives that all do stuff together, the good wins. I would not trade my large family for anything.