Some Family is Better Than No Family

     As I continue to finish the book What Happened to Goodbye, by Sarah Dessen, a few lines really stuck out to me.  The lines were, "It made me think of my mother, suddenly, and I wished she could see me here, in a real home, with a family, just like she wanted.  Maybe it wasn't ours.  But it was still good."  This lines were really prominent in my reading because they made me think about the benefits and importance of family.  They make me realize that family consists of people not only there for you, but help you to become who you are.

     In think this because it was only when the main character Mclean started to settle down and make family-equivalent friends, that she began being the real Mclean.  For example, when her mother left her father for another man, and Mclean and her dad moved to different towns, she had a broken family.  Her mother and her always fought and her dad rarely had time for her.  I think this was the reason she decided that she was going to create a new personality for herself every time she moved.  There was no one to help shape her into becoming who she really was.  She was just able to pick and choose her lifestyle, and didn't really know what she wanted in life.  This included what type of guy she was into, what friends she actually wanted to make, etc.  However, when she just recently moved and began making family-like friends, her real self came out.  She ended up being Mclean (her real name) and she began knowing exactly what she wanted.  For example, when Opal asked her what color she wanted to paint the restaurant with, Mclean knew exactly.  She pointed to the one on the right and said, "This one.  It's perfect."  In the book, Mclean also said, "These days though, I was sure of one thing: I knew what I liked."

     Overall, I believe that although many people might not see it, families (including best friends) not only support you, but allow and help you be who you really are.  I think that in small ways, they help family member realize something within themselves.  They can help a person find who they really are.  I think that the fact that a family can be something steady and reassuring, is enough to let someone open up and be themselves.  In other books I read where the main character has a broken home or is an orphan, they often say that they prefer to be alone.  But now I think maybe that's just something they deluded themselves with because they don't have reassuring figures like a family to help them realize what they really want in life.

Family

Many times, when I read something, I think about the supporting characters.  It usually dawns on me how much we need family and friends to support us.  Without them, we could just lose faith in ourselves, others, life, etc.  However, it never occurred to me what it would be like for those who do survive without any supporting figure.  For example, Leo from the book The Mark of Athena, by Rick Riordan doesn't even know what it's like to have a family.

Leo, a demigod son of Hephaestus has been on his own so long that he doesn't know what it's like to have a family.  In the text, he even said that he questioned whether the other demigods he was on a quest with, were his family.  I find it sad that unlike most people, he can't just tell when someone is family.  It also doesn't help that he's the son of the god of fire and crafts.  Leo described how, because of this, he's more into independently working than socializing.  These things make me think about how he has lasted this long without some sort of depression.  Usually in stories the lonely people are unhappy, but Leo doesn't seem to be because he's always cracking jokes.  And even when the book describes his point of view on what is happening, he doesn't seem to have a sad side.  This makes me wonder if he's just stronger or braver when it comes to facing life alone.  Or maybe he just has a different perspective on the world, and doesn't think that family is as important as it is to others.  Overall, I question Leo's strategies of having such a strong and happy attitude all by himself without knowing family.