We all have our families - those to which we were born. But then there exist the other types of families - the ones that we create for ourselves. For me, my biological family has always been a major component of my life. My other families in the past have included my Pinewood family (in which I invested thirteen years to create), my friend family, my basketball family, and the odd acquaintances family (consisting of waitresses, manicurists, and hair dressers).

I have never noticed the extent to which a family is there for you until I left some of those families when I went to college. While I still remain a part of that closely knit family, I am not actively invested in it. However, coming back home for Thanksgiving reminded me of how lucky I am to have people that care about me and how valuable those relationships and families I have formed are. For one instance, my mom and I went to get a manicure and the manicurist that my mom sees every week or so greeted me with a big warm welcome when I walked through the door. Something as simple as this encounter reminds me of the importance of families. Even going to the gym where my mom recently became a member - a place that I have never been before, I bumped into high school teachers. Not until now have I realized how large of a network I have in California. It is comforting to be in downtown and to run into someone I know. The familiarity of the place and the people!

As we journey through life, we build new families when we enter new communities. I am now a part of the Lehigh community and have formed a Lehigh family. While leaving my set of families at home is often difficult, I have my PA family to look forward to seeing.

One thing that I did not expect from coming home was to be reminded of people at Lehigh. Yes, I did expect to think of Rosie when I heard "Party in the USA" or Megan when my mom showed me the Brown and White, which she subscribes to. But random people whose names I don't even know, I was reminded of. With my daily routine, I often see the same people studying in the library at 9:30 a.m. or walking to class at 11:00 a.m. Never have I had a personal encounter with them other than exchanging a smile. But as I have seen them so much and they have in a way become a part of my routine, their faces are implanted in my memory. So while dining in a restaurant or grocery shopping in Los Altos, other diners or customers reminded me of those passerbyers in my routinely day at Lehigh. Amazing: how now people that never would have had significance to me three months ago remind me of an alternate community that I belong to.