Ohana.

Time and again, I forget how blessed I am to have such wonderful family. God has given me two incredible people to nurture and raise me and two siblings to share a lifelong bond with. All too often, I take my family for granted, even neglect them. So, I'm going to brag on them a little, and you can be jealous.

First off, I'm thankful for my incredible dad. Not a father, a dad. Despite all the crap I've put him through, all the stupid things I've done, the millions of little things we've argued over, I know he's always got my back. He loves me, flaws and all. I've watched my dad fight and push his way through a great deal of stress and an even greater deal of pain, yet he always makes time to help me sort through my problems. Between the countless stories he's told me (most of them involving his less-than-civilized relatives) and just the simple, everyday moments when he acts like a good dad should, there's no teacher in any university on this earth that could teach me as much as he has. And there's no other man alive who has inspired me as much as he has.

I'm also thankful for my beautiful mom. God knew what He was doing when He gave me a mother who was both sarcastic and sensitive. Even though I know I drive her crazy, she loves me and makes time to talk to me about the specific things going on in my life. I've never felt like I didn't have someone to talk to, because all my life I've had my mom. Beyond having the same sense of humor, mom and I, both being the oldest children in our families, relate to each other on several levels. Even when she's down, she takes the time to build me up, and I couldn't have been given a better woman to raise me.

I can't leave my brothers out, because they've touched my life as well. They've befriended me each in their own ways, but I love them each the same. There's never a dull moment with my brothers, not a day goes by where we don't laugh together. They've taught me how to be a bigger brother, and while I'd like to think I've helped them grow, they'll never know how much they have helped me grow.

In my life, there are thousands of variables, people and places and events and things, all temporary, but my family has always and will always be there. A constant in this crazy world. God has blessed me so dearly, and I can't help but be thankful, thankful that I've never had to search for love, because I was born into it.