Keep Your Friends Close

The other day I was on the phone with my great grandmother and she was laying me out about something and she said to me “why do you treat your friends better than you treat your family?” That stuck with me because I was confused. If it was the case, why can't I treat my friends better than my family?  It is believed that because you share blood with a person that they should come first and they should be your EVERYTHING. Why am I required to die for a family member who wouldn’t die for me? It is not law for a person to be obsessed with their family. Just because it is family doesn’t mean they have the best for you in mind.Just because they are family doesn't mean I am obligated to love them. Harsh, I know  but it is reality. I am not obligated to love someone just because we are family. Family can be your enemy. I REFUSE to have toxic people in my life and that is probably why my great grandmother said that. The good thing about friends is that they are your CHOSEN family versus people you were born knowing. Why deal with toxic family when you could get new family who cares for you no matter what? There is an old phrase that goes, "blood is thicker than water," but you need both blood and water to survive.  I personally do not place family over friends or friends over family; if I love you then I love you. I would give my cousin and my friend my last because it is all love. People focus too much on being family oriented and making time for friends but if family is most important, why are friends not considered family? Back to what my great grandmother was saying, I do not treat my friends better than my family, I just treat my friends like I treat my family. I am a people person and if I care about you then I want to see you happy and that means treating people ideally how I'd treat my family. I love my family and I love my friends and honestly that is all that matters.