Do you ever go down a rabbit hole while scrolling through social media? You start looking at one post and three hours later, you’re on a deep dive into the life of an ex, former classmate, or some random topic that grabbed your interest!  

Well recently, this happened to me. I had back-to-back trips to Palm Springs which meant hours in the car, and my rabbit hole research led me to a podcast. It’s called “How Did This Get Made?” and the layout is a group of actors analyzing bad movies and the logic behind them. Most of the time the projects are horrible, but one episode featured The Fast and the Furious franchise. I had never seen these movies before, but the podcast had me obsessed! I embarrassingly watched all 10 movies along with the podcast and found that the big theme in all of the films is family. Nothing comes before family, nothing is more important than family, and the characters will do anything for family. Here’s the funny thing, though: only two of the extremely large on-screen cast are blood-related. Yet, the family theme is the most important aspect of the story. They aren’t the only franchise to do this, either. If you have kids, grandkids, or little ones in your life, the Lego Batman movie has a cute song called “Friends are Family” that follows this same logic.

Through my Fast and Furious journey, I found that I follow this same logic, too! I’ve introduced you to many people in my family over the last several months but as someone who left home right after high school, never returned, and typically moves to a new city almost every three years, I’m in line with the Fast and the Furious definition of family. “Family” covers the people who make you feel welcome, offer support, and take care of you.

It started with college. The first girls I clicked with in my dorm became my roommates, and a couple became my line sisters. To this day, I know I can always call on them for anything.

Then, I flew the nest again and moved a little bit further away, landing in Charleston, South Carolina. This was a place I couldn’t even imagine in my future, but it was there that I found people who took me in, welcomed me into their families, and made me feel like the Palmetto State is a forever home. Real talk, I never really wanted to leave.

A little later on, I made a lifelong friend in Pittsburgh. I still can’t remember how it happened, but he is my person to this day! He can’t stand how I always greet him by saying, “Get your college degree!” It’s a good joke we share and as a little brother, he is always by my side.

Then, I met my work husband. I spent anywhere from 12-15 hours every day with Mark for three years. We’ve traveled the country together and spent hours at the White House or on Capitol Hill. He always made sure I was safe and made it home and he and his family say I’ll always have a place with them in Miami. I won’t argue with that!    

I’ve learned that family is what you make it and who YOU hold on tight to. You spend the most time with them. They become the ones you spend your holidays with. They know your daily life so no updates are necessary.

So here’s my question: when do friends become family to you?