I’ve been so busy, sorry for the lack of posts! I’ve been thinking, and this post is a product of those thoughts.

They say home is where the heart is, but what if your heart is all over the place? And by “they,” I obviously mean the wise people that came up with the phrase. I think that hearts are kind of like puzzles. Every meaningful person in your life comprises a piece of that puzzle, and with one or many of them missing, how can you feel whole?

I’ve gone the last few years 1100 miles away from my parents and grandparents, most of my aunts uncles and cousins, 1000 miles from my friends, 212 miles from my older sister and 106 miles from my twin sister. With distances like these, I speak to the important people in my life frequently, mostly on a weekly or monthly basis, and that helps with the many miles between us.

That being said, I’ve found another family, another home. Another place to call my own. Lol ok that was song lyrics I really can’t be serious can i? Ok, I digress.

Growing up is about making new homes, making new family while somehow managing to keep the old one. Family isn’t just blood, it’s the people that wait for you outside of your room for you to get home with ice cream and a hug when you have a bad day. Family are the people that make you laugh so hard you have the hiccups. The ones that can tell you when you’re being a brat or diva, the people that hold your hand during scary movies and the scary times in life. Home is whenever I’m with any of you.

This weekend a friend reminded me of how important my family is to me. My family, blood and those that probably should be blood at this point- will always have a special place in my heart. While I sit on this train and look at the strangers around me, I can’t help but wonder if they have the type of family that offers to fly you home on a whim, or people in their lives that would bike across campus in the rain with my favorite ice cream, or bake me a sugar free cake for my birthday in the throws of blood sugar problems (that I now know as diabetes). I wonder how I became blessed with such great friends and family, and how I would be different if I didn’t grow up knowing that I always had someone on and by my side.

Don’t get me wrong, my family is far from perfect. But there is beauty in imperfection. There is beauty in the breakdown, and there is beauty in every single person. I may not be the most optimistic person, and damn do I have my faults, but I also have the people that bring out my light. I wouldn’t trade them for the world- or diabetes.

Just some food for thought. More posts to come soon!

xoxo stay classy… and warm