I've Come To Realize That Blood Doesn't Make A Family
I have come to realize that blood doesn't make a family... And with 'blood', I mean genes. Seeing as relatives don't actually share blood at all. They just share genetics... Chromosomes and such. Inaccurate terminology aside, I don't believe biological relation makes a family. Its all relative to how you choose to define 'family.'
My definition of 'family' - though possibly naïve and idealistic - does not rely on biological- or matrimonial ties. To me, family is a more abstract concept. It is like an honorific title, assigned to only the closest of your kin. Only to those who prove themselves family... And there is no paternity test for that, only the unyielding test of time can reveal those worthy of being called family.
Who then, is your family, if not the people who supplied your genetic material? Your family are the people who love and care for you UNCONDITIONALLY. They are the ones you can count on to help and guide you in your time of need. They support you even when they don't understand or agree with you. They accept you as is, even with your flaws. Those are your people. That is your true family. The people you would gladly give your life for..., even when they hurt you.
Your family are the people you choose to experience and share life with. They are a part of you, as you are a part of them, and no amount of animosity can ever break that bond. Friendships are fleeting, but family is for life. Not even death itself can sever the bonds.
But this bond is formed over time, not inherited through blood. Therefore blood is not what makes the family.
There is not a single person in my biological family that I share this bond with. Yet, I do have three people in my life that I share this familial bond with. So I ask you then; who is really my family in the end? The family who raised me as a child only to reject me as an adult? Or the family that stuck by my side through my darkest moments..., helping me rebuild my life even as my blood relatives turned their backs upon me.
Having a child doesn't make you a parent any more than having a guitar makes you a guitarist. It's the things you do that make you what you are. In order to be a guitarist - you need to play the guitar. Just so, in order to be a family - you must behave like one. Blood has nothing to do with it.
My definition of 'family' - though possibly naïve and idealistic - does not rely on biological- or matrimonial ties. To me, family is a more abstract concept. It is like an honorific title, assigned to only the closest of your kin. Only to those who prove themselves family... And there is no paternity test for that, only the unyielding test of time can reveal those worthy of being called family.
Who then, is your family, if not the people who supplied your genetic material? Your family are the people who love and care for you UNCONDITIONALLY. They are the ones you can count on to help and guide you in your time of need. They support you even when they don't understand or agree with you. They accept you as is, even with your flaws. Those are your people. That is your true family. The people you would gladly give your life for..., even when they hurt you.
Your family are the people you choose to experience and share life with. They are a part of you, as you are a part of them, and no amount of animosity can ever break that bond. Friendships are fleeting, but family is for life. Not even death itself can sever the bonds.
But this bond is formed over time, not inherited through blood. Therefore blood is not what makes the family.
There is not a single person in my biological family that I share this bond with. Yet, I do have three people in my life that I share this familial bond with. So I ask you then; who is really my family in the end? The family who raised me as a child only to reject me as an adult? Or the family that stuck by my side through my darkest moments..., helping me rebuild my life even as my blood relatives turned their backs upon me.
Having a child doesn't make you a parent any more than having a guitar makes you a guitarist. It's the things you do that make you what you are. In order to be a guitarist - you need to play the guitar. Just so, in order to be a family - you must behave like one. Blood has nothing to do with it.
