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Family Is(n’t) The Most Important Thing In The World
“Family is everything” or “Family is the most important thing in the world” is something I’ve heard many times over the years. What if your family is toxic? It certainly changes your perspective.
My country is very catholic, traditional, and family-oriented. The most standard and encouraging scenario for life has always been — get an education, get a job, and start a family. That’s pretty much all that is. In a country with limited opportunities and such values, I guess it makes sense that it would be this way.
Being a free spirit myself I always wondered if there was more to life than that, as I never saw that path for myself. I’ve been blessed (and resourceful) enough to travel to many countries over the years and have met people from all over the world who had different ways of living, viewing life, forming relationships, and even definitions of what a family is.
Suddenly I saw options and choices I was looking for and decided to design my life my way, under my own terms.
The thing is if you come from a dysfunctional family, especially one that is abusive, hearing that “family…