Roots That Run Deep

"A family is like a forest, when you are outside it is dense, when you are inside you see that each tree has its place." - Ghana, Akan Proverb

For me, family is all you have at the end of the day. I know that no matter what I do or say, I always have them to support me, and I appreciate that more than most of my family will ever know. We are a little dysfunctional, maybe, but we love each other just the same.

When you're with your family, you don't really think about how important each person is. There is actually a specific role for each person, and you don't realize that sometimes until that small link in the chain is missing. On my mom's side, my grandmother holds the family together and cooks every meal, despite the fact that she shattered her right wrist and has heart problems. Papaw is the political conversationalist, and my aunts and uncles are still in their high school mentality, even though they are middle aged. My mom is the rebellious one, the one who still has a fire in her heart. My sister is the typical teenage boy-crazy text-sender, and I am the poster child of high school. Straight A's, cheerleader, Christian, talented in singing and piano player, tons of friends, and the overall happy person. It's more responsibility than it seems. I work hard to keep my family impressed.

My dad's side is a little more dysfunctional. They're a family of old money, and that's never a good thing for a family's bonds. My grandmother, who passed away in February of 2009 from lung cancer and surgery complications, held the family together, made sure everyone came to every family event, and cooked the best soul food I've ever tasted. Popa tries to take her place, but he's still recovering from the loss. My aunts and uncles on my dad's side are a little more mature than those on my mom's, but you can tell they don't have the joy in life that my other family does. My dad is like his brothers and sisters, my sister has the same role, and so do I. The poster child of teenagers. I work hard to keep them impressed, too.

So maybe neither family is picture perfect. There are internal conflicts and grudges that would be hard to understand if you weren't involved in the situation, even some that I don't know about yet. either way, I'm the poster child of high school. I'm the cheerleader, I'm the straight A student, the musician, the social butterfly, and the one who is constantly busy. It's kind of crazy, and I'm sure that in twenty years, I'll look back and realize just how crazy it is: how stressed I am now because of that pressure.

But I'll just ...smile because it happend.