Ties That Bind
Being a teenager is all about living the good ole family life. Spending time with your family can be one of the most fulfilling things you get to do. Mind you, that it's a privilege. There are so many people around the world who either don't have families at all, or lack the necessary relationships to spend quality time with them. As a teenager, your family is one of the few constants in your life. Whereas friends, likes, relationships and all the crazy rest are variables - your family stays unchanging. You're stuck with them, get used to it. These are the ties that bind.
*Here's another video post fresh off the camera. Color changing shirts, random faces, and some Wii dancing action - goes perfectly with this post - enjoy!
The Cosby Show is actually a dramatized portrayal of my family. It's actually scarily uncanny how similar the cast of characters is to Oteng clan. My dad is Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable, like living and breathing, quirky, funny, and all around a selfless person who absolutely adores his kids. My mom is Claire, witty, passionate, and a strong woman who would do anything for anyone she comes into contact with. The rest of us kids, I'd be Vanessa (the melodramatic perfectionist know it all) and my sister, Bianca, would be Rudy (the cute, princess and everyone's favorite *for good reason, homegirl is riot and a half). The other boys, Rocky is Theo (funny, down to Earth, and hard worker) , Eugene would be Sandra (working up a storm in the whole medical life) and Christian is Denise (the wildly passionate one). All together we make up a perfectly original puzzle, alone we're just seven pieces incomplete without one another. Family are the center piece of every society. As humans we're not meant to be alone. Solitude is reserved for death - and I'm nowhere near there yet. Family is all around you. Think of all the family centered TV shows like Full House, Summerland, Good Luck Charlie, Jessie, Beverly Hills, 90210, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ecetera, so on and so forth. There's a neverending list, and there's a reason that almost every single show has family connections. People don't come into this world alone, they only go out that way. We all know family drama is the best kind of drama, it gets more personal and your family members hit you right at your core where it hurts the most. That's the double-edged sword families wield. They know you the best, and they can either comfort you or destroy you. Families build one another up, when done right. When you cut your family some slack and try to work on your relationships, it has the potential to be a great thing. One of the big problems people find with their families is they seem to settle into this pattern of behavior and have a hard time moving on from the times of the past. People change, and that includes the people in your household. You've got to try though, leaving your house with a chip on your shoulder and grudge in you no good. Let it go, breathe and act like an adult (that is to be able to work through your problems). You're stuck with them, the ties that bind.
People don't understand the magnitude of the importance of family sometimes. Get this clearly, there are people in this world who have known you literally your entire life, and taken care of you, it's the greatest gift this Earth has to offer you. I'll let you know that people like to be frugal with saying "I love you" or calling someone "their family, brothers or sisters" and I know (I'm in the Greek system). I however am not. I reserve my ILY's to few people, because it means so much. My love is not something I give out freely, it has to be earned - the only people who it's inherent to are my blood brothers, sister, mother and father. Everyone else, you've got to work for it. You have to prove yourself worthy of my love (just as you would expect from me as well). My love isn't different from anyone else's but it's a commitment, an everlasting one, that transcends space and time. It means that we will forever be connected, eternally in one another's lives and that I physically cannot live without you. I can honestly say that there are very few people I love in this world. There's a lot of people I like, and there's people I know and barely tolerate (y'all know there's people I dislike, but I don't waste my time hating people - who has time to care about people who are irrelevant #deletethem). There's a huge difference between like and love. Whenever I meet pretty girl, like campus crush or all the flawless perfection that was last semester I'm aware I'm only in like (aka puppy dog crush mode) that is infatuation. Love must be cultivated, it needs to go and to be pruned like a thorny rose. We have to know the difference between the two, it's imperative to our lives. I'm never quick, I'd say I'm slower than molasses to drop the L word. If you love me and I love you, then we're in this life for the long haul - the ties that bind us gagged us and made us walk the plank - jumping ship. I can say that I love my fraternity brothers (obviously some more than others; it's natural, we all spend different amounts of time with each other) and my few friends high school who've stood the test time of time. I've made a few other friends at college and outside of it too that have passed the test. These are the people that will surround me on my wedding day, that will ceremoniously godparent my perfectly posh kids, and come along with me on my life's journey. It's a big deal, no it's a big ass deal. Life is too short to go through it alone, your family is what keeps you going on. Bind us together and never break us apart.
Being a teenager is all about understanding the importance of family. These are the people that you've been given to live your life with. Everyone else you get to pick and choose. You've got to take what you've been given and be thankful for them. Your family has the prime position to be a monumental part of your life, if you only let them. These are the ties that bind us all together.
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My blog post question for the day is ... do you think you have friends now that will end up in your wedding? I'm sure of it, thank freaking goodness. I've got big plans for that day, and the life I'll begin afterwards too.
*Here's another video post fresh off the camera. Color changing shirts, random faces, and some Wii dancing action - goes perfectly with this post - enjoy!
The Cosby Show is actually a dramatized portrayal of my family. It's actually scarily uncanny how similar the cast of characters is to Oteng clan. My dad is Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable, like living and breathing, quirky, funny, and all around a selfless person who absolutely adores his kids. My mom is Claire, witty, passionate, and a strong woman who would do anything for anyone she comes into contact with. The rest of us kids, I'd be Vanessa (the melodramatic perfectionist know it all) and my sister, Bianca, would be Rudy (the cute, princess and everyone's favorite *for good reason, homegirl is riot and a half). The other boys, Rocky is Theo (funny, down to Earth, and hard worker) , Eugene would be Sandra (working up a storm in the whole medical life) and Christian is Denise (the wildly passionate one). All together we make up a perfectly original puzzle, alone we're just seven pieces incomplete without one another. Family are the center piece of every society. As humans we're not meant to be alone. Solitude is reserved for death - and I'm nowhere near there yet. Family is all around you. Think of all the family centered TV shows like Full House, Summerland, Good Luck Charlie, Jessie, Beverly Hills, 90210, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ecetera, so on and so forth. There's a neverending list, and there's a reason that almost every single show has family connections. People don't come into this world alone, they only go out that way. We all know family drama is the best kind of drama, it gets more personal and your family members hit you right at your core where it hurts the most. That's the double-edged sword families wield. They know you the best, and they can either comfort you or destroy you. Families build one another up, when done right. When you cut your family some slack and try to work on your relationships, it has the potential to be a great thing. One of the big problems people find with their families is they seem to settle into this pattern of behavior and have a hard time moving on from the times of the past. People change, and that includes the people in your household. You've got to try though, leaving your house with a chip on your shoulder and grudge in you no good. Let it go, breathe and act like an adult (that is to be able to work through your problems). You're stuck with them, the ties that bind.
People don't understand the magnitude of the importance of family sometimes. Get this clearly, there are people in this world who have known you literally your entire life, and taken care of you, it's the greatest gift this Earth has to offer you. I'll let you know that people like to be frugal with saying "I love you" or calling someone "their family, brothers or sisters" and I know (I'm in the Greek system). I however am not. I reserve my ILY's to few people, because it means so much. My love is not something I give out freely, it has to be earned - the only people who it's inherent to are my blood brothers, sister, mother and father. Everyone else, you've got to work for it. You have to prove yourself worthy of my love (just as you would expect from me as well). My love isn't different from anyone else's but it's a commitment, an everlasting one, that transcends space and time. It means that we will forever be connected, eternally in one another's lives and that I physically cannot live without you. I can honestly say that there are very few people I love in this world. There's a lot of people I like, and there's people I know and barely tolerate (y'all know there's people I dislike, but I don't waste my time hating people - who has time to care about people who are irrelevant #deletethem). There's a huge difference between like and love. Whenever I meet pretty girl, like campus crush or all the flawless perfection that was last semester I'm aware I'm only in like (aka puppy dog crush mode) that is infatuation. Love must be cultivated, it needs to go and to be pruned like a thorny rose. We have to know the difference between the two, it's imperative to our lives. I'm never quick, I'd say I'm slower than molasses to drop the L word. If you love me and I love you, then we're in this life for the long haul - the ties that bind us gagged us and made us walk the plank - jumping ship. I can say that I love my fraternity brothers (obviously some more than others; it's natural, we all spend different amounts of time with each other) and my few friends high school who've stood the test time of time. I've made a few other friends at college and outside of it too that have passed the test. These are the people that will surround me on my wedding day, that will ceremoniously godparent my perfectly posh kids, and come along with me on my life's journey. It's a big deal, no it's a big ass deal. Life is too short to go through it alone, your family is what keeps you going on. Bind us together and never break us apart.
Being a teenager is all about understanding the importance of family. These are the people that you've been given to live your life with. Everyone else you get to pick and choose. You've got to take what you've been given and be thankful for them. Your family has the prime position to be a monumental part of your life, if you only let them. These are the ties that bind us all together.
My blog post question for the day is ... do you think you have friends now that will end up in your wedding? I'm sure of it, thank freaking goodness. I've got big plans for that day, and the life I'll begin afterwards too.
I'm so thankful that I do. There's very few of them, but that doesn't concern me because they're amazing.
ReplyDeletePS. The Cosby Show is my favorite show of all time! I have every season on DVD.