To my therapist,

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to write to you and explain my family life before our first meeting. Living in a family of seven, there is a lot that I have gone through and I think it’s important I address all of it. I am the fourth of five children, I have two parents, and four dogs. My family has been my biggest supporters and best friends for the past eighteen years of my life. But when there are ups there are downs, and when there is love there is hate. 

To me, family is being able to live through and overcome that feeling of love and hate, happiness and anger. 

When one of my older sisters was in her final years of high school, I was in elementary school. My sister, the middle child, had lots of problems. I would find myself in my room anxious often because my sister was always pushing boundaries, testing the limits, and getting into arguments with my parents. This internal feeling went on for years, every family vacation, every holiday event, every family interaction, it was always the middle child that started the arguments, had the shortest temper, and caused the most drama. Even though these situations caused me to be nervous or anxious, my other siblings, mostly my older siblings, helped calm me down and helped me through what I was going through. Even though I was always so angry with her at the moment, she is still my sister and I still love her today.

Now, as a senior in high school, I’m the same age my sister was when she caused me all my anxiety, and I find myself very different from her, but I still have some similarities that most high school students have. When I think of my childhood, I only remember those memories of my sister—but there are good memories like going to the beach with my family and going to Disney World. It is easy to remember the bad memories, but the good memories are the ones I should be remembering. My sister has worked through her issues and now at twenty-two, she is doing a lot better, which I am very thankful for. Out of all seven of us, my twenty-four-year-old sister is the only one who has moved out and lives in an apartment with her boyfriend. Which still leaves six of us living at home together. 

Thankfully, I will be going to college in three months and living three hours away. I don’t know what I would do if I wasn’t going to college. As excited as I am to attend college, I will miss my family. I won’t get to see my siblings and dogs every day, I won’t get to see my parents for months, and I won’t be able to have my own bathroom. Even though I will miss them, after eighteen years I am ready to finally be on my own. I still remember going with my family to drop off my older brother and sisters on their move-in days in college. Unpacking everything from the car to the dorm room was sad and exciting. I remember being in elementary school and thinking about how cool college would be after seeing the dorm rooms my siblings were living in. It was always a tradition for my whole family to go to Buffalo Wild Wings every time after we unpacked and dropped everything off at their dorms. We would spend one last meal together, all seven of us, before dropping them off to be on their own for the next year. 

My family has always been very close to one another, but one day we will all get older and start our own families and have our priorities in life. But until then, all we can do is love each other, help each other, and accept each other in any form. Family is being able to live through and overcome the feelings of love and hate, happiness and anger. Even when I think I have nobody, all of my friends are fading, and nothing seems consistent. My family is my blood and they will always be there for me no matter what.

Anyway, thank you again for letting me write to you about my family, and hope you find my story useful for our meeting. I look forward to meeting you at our first session.

Sincerely,

Mason