Who is family?

there’s a lot of pressure in society to forgive and have ties with blood family, but what if your blood family is abusive, manipulative and just fucking horrible? i have had almost nothing but horrid experience with blood family. i do have family, chosen loved ones who are generous, uplifting and supportive. folks i would walk through fire for. who have and would do likewise for me. so i’m here to say to you: if your blood family is doing a number on you, if they expect you to stay close to them out of a sense of obligation, out of a conventional expectation that you *should* be supportive and engage with them because they are “family,” do not put up with that bullshit.