Blessed Family

My father will always say God has blessed this family and he’s right. God has blessed my family. I am blessed to have each of my brothers and for us to play such an integral part in each other’s lives. But our family is not blessed because of my siblings and I, our family is blessed because of our parents. 

My parents throughout my life have always put us first, our education, our happiness and supported each of us in our endeavors. I am the person I am today because I have been blessed with my parents. Most parents probably wouldn’t trust their children the same way my parents have trusted me and all my unconventional decisions. Although my lifestyle choices may seem unconventional to most, everything I have done has made perfect sense to me from a Bachelor's in Studio Art to moving to 3 different countries to essentially work for free. My parents have always trusted in my ability to provide and prepare myself for my future and their high expectations of me have always pushed me to expect more from myself as well. Their dedication and hard work to give me such a wonderful and blessed life pushed me to reach for my own independence so that my parents could focus on my younger brothers and their futures. The only reason I am as ready or fearless to make such bold life decisions at the drop of a hat are because I know no matter what happens they will always be there to catch me in case I fall. 

My unconventional life choices have also led me to miss out on a lot in the lives of my brothers, my parents and most of my close family and friends. I have missed engagements, weddings, birthdays, holidays, memorable trips and bonding experiences. I made a decision to turn down a wonderful opportunity because it would have kept me from seeing my family at all upon my return from Indonesia and I did something extremely unconventional for me—I took a break. For the first time in my life I tried to focus on being present for my family so that I could help around the house, watch my little brother be a teenager and although I was still applying for jobs and looking for opportunities I was taking life a lot slower than I normally would. Even though, the idleness often drove me crazy I understand the purpose and need to be home this summer.

This summer that I have been able to spend with my family is important to me and reminds me why I am forever blessed to have such wonderful and caring parents and a solid bond between my brothers that is more than blood but also friendship and mutual love and appreciation for each other. I stayed home this summer because I know my unconventional life paths may not leave me with more of these opportunities in the future, especially when it will just be the 5 of us. Our family will grow as my brothers and I continue in our own journeys of life and as we grow so will all the blessings of our family because we have been blessed with an Ammi and Thaththi who have hearts that will only continue to grow in acceptance of who we are and how they have raised us. The older I grow and the longer I am away from them, the stronger I am in my own understanding of not only faith in God but an honest and humble gratitude for my parents and how they have and always will provide for me in love and support. So thank you for putting up with me for this long!