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Family describes more than our father, mother, brother, sister, and everybody in between. Family, like the word love, has a twofold meaning: we can associate it with people we are romantically involved with, and we can associate it with people whom we deeply care about.

The definition of family is never objective. We all can't agree on one set definition that will hold true for every person in this world. Culture, environment, different forms of society all of those factors help shape and determine how we see "family."

But, we can agree that family includes those whom we are very close to, and those whom we share blood ties. We can call our best friends part of our family, and we also call uncles and aunts whom we have never met our family. Yet, we can also distinguish different categories within our family, too. We can say that we are closer to mom and Aunt Jane than we are to dad and his brother Tim.

At any rate, we consider all of these people family. But, what importance does the old adage "blood is thicker than water" mean for family?

Just as we can define family easily on a personal level, we can also un-define it. We can say that someone is no longer part of our family because they have done something bad to us or to the rest of the clan. Blood is, for the most part, thicker than water. But this does not hold true for those outside of blood relationships who have a familial relationship towards us. For instance, a person's best friend, who does not share a blood relationship with the other person, may be considered "family" whereas the first person's brother, who may be estranged from everybody else, could not be considered "family."

Family is, essentially, what we make of it. We can choose to strengthen our familial ties or we can let them loose. We can choose to be on friendly terms with one another, or we can choose to go our separate ways and never speak to each other again. We have heard of too many families that have been broken apart by outside forces: money, outside relationships, work, etc. It is unfortunate, too, that we allow these outside forces to take control of something as natural as a familial relationship.

Family has a special meaning for every person, but it is understood that whatever "family" means for each person, it is a relationship that signifies something truly unique and meaningful. We can pick and choose who we see as "family," but this does not excuse us from striving to build good relationships with those whom we share blood ties.

Learn more about this author, Joan Inong.
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