I’m sure a lot of people have seen the movie "Lilo & Stitch." I first saw this movie when I was in elementary school. At that time, I did not think too much about the themes or greater message behind the movie. However, when I think about the movie in retrospect, one of the deeper meanings behind it involves the importance of family.
Everyone has a family. You do not get to pick who is in your family. You just have to love them and accept them for who they are. I personally think family is one of the greatest gifts a human gets in their life and that should be highly prized by every individual. Yes, you might fight sometimes or even fear getting in trouble with your parents, but in the grand scheme of things, family is essential to an individual's identity.
My parents recently surprised me with a visit here in Madison just to drop off homemade Indian curries for me to eat. My mom probably spent several hours cooking, while my dad drove two and half hours with my mom just to drop off the food so that I would eat well during the week of my first midterm for the semester. They stayed in Madison for only half an hour and drove back again for another two and half hours. This was all done on a Saturday when they normally rest after working long hours during the week. That being said, they do this for me every time I come back home and sometimes drive up multiple times a semester, regardless of how tired they feel or how much effort it takes them to do so.
This is just a small taste of everything they do for me merely because I am their son. Yes, I can’t stand them at times and they get really mad or upset with me, but they will always love me and I can never repay them for everything they have done and will continue doing for me. Everyone deserves a loving family.
But, there are other kinds of families, too. Your sports team, college friend group or other community are the families you choose. The families you choose are often a support group, offering friendship and loyalty when you need it most. I am lucky enough to have met that friend group this year, because I know that when I am in need, they will help me out. Everyone needs at least one person who will do that for them—a friend they can turn to and literally tell anything to. A group of people who will accept you for who you are and who you can be completely yourself with without having to put on a facade.
College has a very nice way of letting people find their community. In high school, people are clustered into cliques that have often existed since elementary school, leading to people not being willing to branch out. People are judged and labeled based on superficial criteria, like their athleticism, hobbies or intelligence. But, in college, everyone is able to find where they belong because popularity is not as important.
If you have not yet found your community, your people, then do not worry. Someplace, somewhere, there are people who will become your support group, at least from my experience here at UW-Madison. College is a much broader and open-minded place than high school, where people's opinions don't matter as much as they once did.
An individual can belong to zero, one, or many families. In the end, every single person should value the family they can turn to, whether it be their biological family or their community. Everyone needs a little ohana in their life; however that may come to you.
