What is a family? Is it the people that you are born into and that live under the same roof as you? Or is it the people that interact with you in a positive manner? I believe that the people who surround you and care about you are the ones to be considered your family. The definition of family by Google says: ?fam(?)l?; a noun; a group of parents and children living together in a household. The definition used by a cold machine, programmed to do whatever the user wants over a dimly lit screen is so limited, when it is such a flexible word. Family is not only the relationship between parent and child, it also ecompasses the aunts and uncles, grandparents and cousins. The people within your extended family create a ring of family that is accessible to those specific members alone. The relationships between friends, classmates, and teammates also create rings of a family and could be considered part of the bigger definition of family. Family is a flexible word, able to take shape to the need of the user.

I believe that there is more than one ring of family members. I believe that your blood related family creates something similar to a Niels Bohr diagram. The Niels Bohr diagram is a diagram in Chemistry that is used to represent the fixed paths of the electrons around the nucleus. It starts with your personal family as the nucleus, then extends to the other families you have created and been accepted into, representing the electron rings moving in a fixed pattern. For me, the multiple rings include my extended family, my school family, my soccer family, and my friend family. That’s a lot of families. For those in chemistry, this would create a Beryllium atom or a positively charged Boron ion. Anyway, there are multiple families that I am personally accepted in and it goes to show that family is more than the people who gave birth to you and the people who you have to share the same bathroom with. My different families mean a lot to me in different ways and that’s the reason why I consider them to be a family.

First, my personal family is the one closest to my heart or nucleus. My personal family has raised me since I was first born. They are the ones who continuously care about me whenever something is wrong or right. My brother consistently tries to give me hugs whenever I come home from school even though I don’t like it. He acts like a person who wasn’t seen their relative in years, when I haven’t seen my brother for only 10 hours. He would want to give a hug, saying, “C’mere Coopie!” I would reply, “No Coley! C’mon you know I don’t like this.” I would eventually give in and let him hug me after lots of complaining. I, on the other hand, consistently give my mom hugs, even when she doesn’t want one. I usually comment, “Mama, you need a huggie!” I would give her one immediately without her being able to react like a deer stuck in headlights. Whenever someone in the house is feeling down, my sister always interrogates them about what is wrong because not only is she as nosy as a detective, but she wants to console them. All these people care about me and I care about them. They are my center and are the people who are always willing to help me no matter what. They are willing to give their time, money, and effort to help me succeed in life and I am truly grateful for what they have done. Secondly, my extended family remains a solid electron in my ring of families. My Aunt and Uncle are always there for me when I want something special for my birthday. My grandparents always call me and ask how school is going and what I’ve been doing. They care about my well-being and my happiness. All these people throughout my two families care for me, my happiness, my health, and my experiences. They want what’s best for me and they try to help in any way possible. They are my safety net and my trampoline, helping me reach new heights and catching me when I fall down.
         

My school and soccer family both interlock with one another. I play for the freshman soccer team and I attend the same high school that I play for. Both of these families push me mentally and physically. My school family pushes me to do my best and helps me when I need it. My friends help me to get my work done and get a good grade on my quizzes and tests. My soccer family pushes my physical strength and tries to get me to perform my best on the field. Many people throughout my soccer family are in my school family and they support me on and off the field, whether it be cheering me on while they are on the bench or in the classroom, we have each others’ backs. My friend family is made up of the friends who I completely trust and can confide to them my true feelings about a problem. These people care about me and going to their house to hangout is similar to a second home. They are always willing to hang out and celebrate holidays and birthdays with me. I consider myself a quarter Jewish because I go to my friend’s house to celebrate all the holidays with him and his family. My friends and teammates are the dreams that I continue to strive for, pushing me to my limits in order to allow me to perform my best.
         

Like John Lennon said, we should all, “Come together,” like one big family. Thousands of people throughout my electrons on their fixed paths around the atom come together to form one giant family photo, jam packed with everyone I care about and everyone that cares about me. All these people barely fit into the photograph, sitting on benches, row after row after row, waiting for everyone to get into place. They all chat with each other as they wait for people to fit into the rows and surround me because they care about me. Family is not about eating with the same people night after night or accidently using the other person’s toothbrush. It’s about the care, love, and dedication between the people that makes it a family. Friends are temporary, but family is forever.