My family tree is full of Masonic heritage. It started out on just my Dad's side of the family but has now grown to people on my Mom's side and even a few of our family friends are now a part of my Masonic family. As for me I am a member of Job's Daughters International (JDI). While Job's is not directly affiliated with Freemasonary we girls are all joined together by our Masonic heritage making us "sisters." I have been extermely blessed to be born into this Masonic family and have it as part of my life. Now, I'm sure you've all heard the numerous conspiracy theories regarding Freemasonary, I know I have. I've spent many history class discussions arguing these with other students. So I'm here to tell you that they are wrong; and to give you a little insight on the family behind the brotherhood.

You see when I say that I grew up in lodge, which is the place that Masons hold their meetings, I mean this quite literally. As most of the families in my father's lodge have known me ever since I was three days old. Dearborn lodge holds a family dinner every Monday night for Masons and their families to visit with each other and become closer. Being that I've been going to these dinners basically since the day I was born I came to know most of the members as my family; many of which I consider second grandparents. I remember walking around to most every table in my "clip clop" shoes as I used to call them (most people call them high heels) to visit and talk with all the adults are their children. To me they're all family, because if I learned anything from this organization it's that family isn't always by blood.

The lodges host so much more than just Monday night dinners for the families; of course, they have family picnics and even Christmas parties for us. Growing up lodge picnics were one of my favorite parts of summer. I loved getting to see some of the Masons' grandchildren that I didn't get to see every Monday night and all the fun games and activities the lodges had set up for us, with some creative help from their wives, of course. Now when it came to the Christmas parties I'm pretty sure I would get more excited about those than actual Christmas! I loved that all the families would come together and we could all get amazing food, have a great night forget any worries and even get a visit from Santa.

By the time I had reached 10 I had spent years hearing about Masonic youth groups for the children: for the boys Demolay and for the girls Rainbow and Job's Daughters. I had joined both girls' organizations but I stayed active mostly in JDI. Joining these organizations showed me that the large Masonic family I had already come to know was even bigger than I had thought. Now not only did I have family members all of the state, but through Job's I had gained sisters all around the world! Through our monthly "jobie" meetings and our state travels I was able to meet millions of new friends and learn new leadership skills. By the time I turned 14 I was able to those leadership skills to work when I became Honored Queen of my Bethel, which is the head position for the girls. This allowed me to be a mentor for the younger girls in the group, to gain planning skills and even help with public speaking. Now, five years later I am not able to be as active as I once was due to work and school, but I still try and keep in contact with the girls of my Bethel and I carry the life lessons JDI has taught around with me. As Job's is only for girls ages 10-20 I will age out next year known as taking my "majority." As much as this saddens me, I am forever grateful to have this group in my life and to have sisters all over the world.

Lastly, and probably one of my favorite parts of this big Masonic Family, is how as I've mentioned, I have family all over the world. As a kid and still today I loved going on trips with my family and driving past a lodge or seeing the cities signs promoting their local lodge. Not just in Michigan but all over the United States. I even have a friend from Brazil that I met via Facebook through Job's daughters.

After all of this, it's hard for me to understand how some people can believe that Freemasonary is bad. It is just not commonly known about, so many people jump to conclusions about it. I hope after reading this you are able to understand at least a little more about Masons and that you will no longer believe the rumors. I am truly proud of my Masonic heritage and I hope it is easy for you to see why. Who knows maybe there's a lodge near you or even someone you know is a Mason, it's more common than you think.