My Family~ By Julia McEllen

There is no such thing as a normal, standard family. Every family is unique and interesting in some way.
For me, my family is the light of my life. (Just a forewarning- this is going to be a long one)

It starts with my mom, sister, and brother. they are by far the most important people of my life.

(My mom, sister, brother, and I)

My younger brother, Ryan, is the smartest and sweetest person I know. More than half of our time together is spent playing. We are honestly eternal kids at heart. Whenever we find ourselves bored out of our minds, we have a constant need to create a new game- no matter where we are or what time it is. And honestly, because I am an older sister, I do take credit for some of the ways he turns out. And by saying that, I think I did a pretty good job guiding him as an older sibling, with my older sister of course (although it is really my mom who deserves the true credit for being the best mom I know and raising all of us kids literally perfectly). Anyway, to be honest, I actually feel so proud when I look at Ryan. He is probably the kindest, most brilliant teenage boy I have ever met.
My older sister, Madelyn, is so much more than a typical older sister. She is honestly someone I would not be able to stay sane without. Whenever I need to just relax and have a movie night or take a drive and blast some music, she is there. And she makes me laugh more than anyone else in the whole world (I promise... she might seem shy at first, but that girl is hilariously funny).

(My siblings and I)

Next is my mom, and I will spare you on repeated words by suggesting you look back on my last blog post (which was about my mom for those of you who weren't catching on). In short, my mom is my best friend. She is my number one. Just to help you wrap your head around this a little more, my mom is the one person in the world I seriously would not survive without. She is the person I confide in when having a bad day and the person who knows me better than anyone. (Okay, now you should really just go read my last blog post or else I'm going to keep writing on and on about her due to the infinite amount of words I have in my head to describe our relationship).

Now it may seem that I am making more out of my family than what is there- but everything in this blog
post is true. That is not to say that we don't get in the occasional fight... but I don't understand what is so hard to believe about family members who are each other's best friends. I think so many people just expect others to butt heads when born into the same family, but my family is closer than anything.
I'm honestly the luckiest person in the world.

Anyway, moving from my immediate family, I have my cousins. And I am going to cut right down to my
cousins (even though we skipped a few family members). But again- I have a lack of space and an
excess of words here. I mean what can I say... I love my family.

So moving on to my cousins that are my age, I would first like to acknowledge Sophie. And yes, the
Sophie in our grade, and in our class. We are cousins. Although, I don't know why that shocks so many people considering we spend half of our time in the hallways together and about every day of our lives together. But maybe it's because we don't look very alike. Ever since we were little we used to joke thatSophie looks like my mom and I look like her mom (my aunt), but of course, we weren't switched at
birth- although that would make a very interesting story. But really, Sophie and I have considered
ourselves sisters- twins for that matter- since we were born. Interestingly enough, we were born exactlytwo weeks apart to the day. We would spend literally every day together during our childhood,
and practically lived together- we were very close. And we still are. Sophie is probably one of the only people who truly knows what I'm thinking and feeling at all times- even when we aren't in the same room. Now again- I have so many words and not enough space so I'm going to move on. But to sum it

up, Sophie is one of the funniest people to be around and knows me like a sister. She is so easy to talk to and laugh with and we always have the best time together. I feel so lucky to have her in my family.

(Sophie and I)

(Sophie and I as babies. To be honest... I'm not totally sure what is going on here or why I look so mad but- your welcome)

Now, a lot of people are truly surprised when Luke Simmons and I tell them we are cousins, and truthfully, we are not blood related. But our moms have known each other for a very long time and are best friends. So ever since I was born, his parents have been my aunt and uncle, and are also my
Godparents. this subsequently makes Luke my God-brother, but it is easier to say cousin, so we do.
But just because we are not related by blood, doesn't mean we are not as close as true relatives.
Honestly, Luke are I as close as most of my blood related family members. Anyway, Luke has always
felt like my brother. We have a family tradition (one of my favorite traditions) to have both our families
eat dinner together on Sundays, and it is by far my favorite night of the whole week. I love being able to
sit around a table, talk, and be myself in front of people who truly care about me. Luke's sister and my
brother are also in the same grade as each other and are only two years younger than us, so we all get
along so well. Even my sister, who is three years older, is as close to Luke and his sister. it is always so
fun when we are all together, especially now that my sister is on college. But to be honest, I don't know
anyone who is more genuine, sweet, and funny as Luke. I feel so lucky to have grown up beside him.

(Luke, his sister Ella, Ryan, Madelyn, and I)

(Luke and I when we were little)

So you can clearly tell that I am super close to my cousins and family members. I feel so grateful to

have been born into a family who supports me no matter what, and loves me unconditionally. And I am
forever grateful to have had the opportunity to have grown up with so many best friends by my side.
Family is truly one of the greatest things in the whole world, and something I would never give up in a
million years.