I believe in the essence of family.

Throughout history, the term family has been one that,

although bearing a general idea, has been defined in countless ways by numerous people.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a family as: a group of individuals living under one
roof and usually under one head. While this is probably the definition most of you use,
Ive come to think of it as something else. Family isnt something you can touch,
something that you can smell or hear or even merely assume. As Ive come to know it,
family is so much more than that.
After being born prematurely by over a month, I was put up for adoption. I was a five-
pound preemie with an uncertain future. My birth-mother was seventeen years-old when
she had me, and I wasnt her first child. For the next few weeks, I lived with the nurse
who delivered me: Theresa Baseski of Kingston, PA. She, along with another nurse,
raised me as their own son, right next door to the happily-married couple who would
eventually become my adoptive-grandparents: Michael and Roberta. Pops, my
grandfather, immediately became my best friend, as we spent more time together than
you could guess, and it remained that way until he lost a long, courageous battle with
lung cancer just a few years ago. These two loving nurses, who Im still in contact with,
became family. The two generous, outstanding individuals next door, my grandparents,
became family.
Weeks later, I was officially adopted by my loving parents, Michael and Christine
Corcoran. They brought me home and unconditionally loved me from the very moment
they held me in their arms. Eight months after I was born, after I was adopted, my birth-
mother gave birth to a girl who my parents adopted as well. I was now blessed with not
only incredible parents, but also a younger sister who looks almost identical to me.
They became my family.
My parents provided for my sister and I for years, and we were probably the two
happiest children in all of Pittsburgh. This was until roughly the fourth grade, when my
parents surprised my sister and I with the unsettling fact that they were getting a
divorce. The next few years were hard, as my mom ended moved out of my childhood
home, the home that Katie and I had spent our entire lives in. Katie and I have spent the
past nine years switching houses every week, and continue to do so today. Its actually
brought us closer than anybody could imagine, closer than any other duo in our family.
My dad needed help raising two children, so we spent countless days with neighbors,
relatives, and family friends who showed us the love we often felt we werent receiving
in our divided family. These neighbors, relatives, and family friends became our family.
Years later, both of my parents have remarried, and Ive been blessed with a step-
brother, step-sister, and a half-sister, each of whom is bright, outgoing, and loving in
every way. These step families, who we havent always gotten along with, have shown
us love and support in every aspect of our lives. Theyve been there for us and helped
my sister and I grow as people, and as young men and women. These step-parents,
siblings, and extended families have become our family.
You see, family isnt something you can define with a word or phrase. Its not tangible.
Its not something you can put a label on. Family is acceptance. Family is hardship.
Family is unity, struggle, and unconditional love, regardless of the circumstances.
Family is a feeling of warmth, sanctity, and being at home no matter where you are, as
long as youre surrounded by people who truly love you. Family is something special,
and, although its different from person to person, it is an experience that all people, big
or small, should have.