I have grown up in a loving family of four. My family has always supported me and cheered me on in all aspects of my life. Tackling crazy travel adventures together and trying all different types of foods has made my family a great team. If any of us needs help, someone within my family is ready to step up and lend a helping hand. I have learned a lot from my family. My sister, Ella, has taught me how to appreciate all different styles of music (including country music) and to live life to the fullest every day. My dad has taught me to love other food dishes from around the world, and my mom has taught me the importance of patience. Collectively my family has taught me that “family” comes in all different forms. You don’t have to share the same DNA in order to consider someone as family. 

I very much consider my basketball teammates to be family. I have grown up playing basketball and I have been a part of the same AAU program for seven years. Throughout these years I have become really close to all the girls that have been on the team. Spending copious amounts of time together on the court and off the court has allowed us to find ways to connect that aren’t always basketball related. Team hangouts and after-practice talks have always helped solidify these bonds. No matter how alike or how different we all are outside of basketball it never affected our friendships or the way we played on the court. We all know that we will always be there to support one another. I cherish the friendships I have made on the basketball court, and I feel lucky to know that I have created a family within the sport that I love.

Basketball is not the only community I consider to be my family. The people I have met through clubs I have been involved in at school, are some of the most trustworthy people I have met. These communities, where there is mutual love, trust, and respect for one another, are what have allowed me to grow exponentially interpersonally. These communities are also the communities that have allowed me to meet some of my best friends. I truly value and cherish the memories all people in these many communities have helped me create.

The great thing about being in so many trusting families is that they are created in unique ways. I have grown up being able to make some of the most unique and cherished friendships. For the first 8 years of my life, I lived diagonally from a family who had a kid my age with autism. At such a young age I was always informed of his diagnosis but it really meant nothing to me. Although most things we did required more assistance for my neighbor and we weren’t able to communicate back and forth as normal friends could, I still highly considered my neighbor to be one of my friends. This wasn’t the only time and place I was able to build such a unique friendship though. My mom used to be a full-time special education teacher so when I was younger, on my off days of school, I used to be able to go in and work with her students. This ultimately sparked something inside of me. It wasn’t until I was older when I began working for my peers within the special education program at my middle school as a peer tutor that I realized, these unique friendships weren’t only cherished by me, but they meant a lot to my new friends. I was able to create a family for both myself and many of my peers around me. This family consisted of many feelings of inclusion, belonging, and understanding for all involved. 

As I look to the future, I’m excited to create new friendships that may ultimately feel more like family. Those friendships may be made in the dorms, classrooms, out on the basketball court, or through any number of extracurricular activities I participate in at any point in my future. Whatever the case may be, I will embrace new individuals and experiences with the confidence I have gained from my incredibly supportive family members – shared DNA or not – whom I’ve loved, trusted, and respected along the way.