In high school there are so many different types of people you will meet. There are the media-following, trendsetting, all-superior preps, the smart-without-studying, sweater-vest-wearing nerds, the good-at-everything, super-talented, work-hard-play-hard athletes, and of course the too-cool-for-homework, never-hard-working, baggy-pant-wearing trouble makers. And well, whether you like it or not, these stereotypes will dominate any tradtional high school. Unfortunately, the biggest struggle for everyone seems to come from their desire to fit in. Throughout the high school experience, you will find that even the best friends come and go, and at some points you may be very confused. However, I have found that whenever you feel like you don’t belong, there will always be a special group of people who have your back, your family. For this reason, I believe that family relationships are the most important relationships, for they are the foundation of your life, and your never ending support system.

From any great building you can see that it is necessary to have a strong foundation, so that you have something to build off of, a strong starting point to grow from. You may not always be able to see the foundation of a grand skyscraper, but you know there had to be one; if there wasn’t, the magnificent tower would crumble with just the smallest gust of wind. My family is my base, and my biggest supporter, and I have learned nearly everything I know from them. My family has taught me how to act toward other people, how to be caring and compassionate, how to handle other personal interactions, and most importantly how to love. I look up to everyone in my family, and each individual has had an impact on me in some way; whether it is my grandfather who taught me how to stay strong no matter what, through his battle with cancer, or my nana who has shown me that you can always find the bright side in a situation.

The majority of my life I have lived very close to a great amount of my family, and with all the time I have spent with each family member I have found several role models. Every person in my family has something different to offer, especially my parents. If you think about it, your parents are the people you have spent the most time with, and you have been learning from them throughout your whole life. I can remember being a little girl and watching my mom get dressed up to go to work, and telling her how much I loved her before she left. At three years old, though, I didn’t really know what love was, I just knew that I loved my parents and they loved me. Looking back, I realize that it didn’t really matter whether I knew what love was or not, all I had to know was that my mommy, my first role model, loved, so I should too. As I have gotten older, I have started realizing how much the people around you can influence you. People don’t know when you are watching and learning from their actions, which makes me realize how lucky I am to have a family who is so kind and loving that they do not have to be careful about what they do or say around me, because they naturally make good decisions. I have also begun to notice the way my brother looks to me, when I see him do something that I often do. This really makes me think about how my life would be if I did not have the family I do to learn from. I think about how if I, being the oldest in my immediate family, did not have my parents or older cousins to look up to, then my younger brother, and cousins would not have a role model. This means that without my close connection with my family, without these relationships, my life would be drastically different.

In conclusion, my relationship with my family has made me who I am today. Without my family, I would not know how to interact with people, or how to show love, a key to any relationship, and compassion. My strong and supportive family has also made me a more self-confident individual, and I am not afraid to be myself, because of them. Going through high school could easily have been some of hardest years of my life, but I was lucky enough to find a deep connection with my family. I have learned from family, laughed with family, and grown from family, and I hope that someday I can teach and support others the way my family has me. It’s funny how often we take family for granted, especially wehn they are the most important people in our lives. Wouldn’t you agree?