At his powerful and heartfelt Rose Cafe last Wednesday, Dr. Hill implored us, the attendees, to determine what we value. I’ve been thinking about this for the past week, not because it has been difficult to ascertain what matters to me, but because I am afraid my answer is too cliche. Despite being obvious, my answer is completely genuine, as I can’t think of anything in my life that holds more value to me than my family. Nothing would be possible without the support and love I receive from these people every day.

When you go to college, you recognize more and more the significance of your family within your life. I think many of us take family for granted until we are plopped into a sea of people we don’t know at a big new place we only took an hour-long tour of months ago. Far away from our families, we lose the security of our homes. We realize that — wow — our parents did a lot. They did the laundry. They cooked us food. They kept the house clean, organized, and neat. They took out the trash. They made our beds. They reminded us of due dates and our responsibilities. And although we eventually make friends, become familiar with the campus, and learn to perform these duties on our own, the first person we call when we are elated over good news, in tears, stressed out beyond belief, or making an important, difficult decision, is a family member (in my case, my mom). No one knows us, loves us, and is there for us like our families. Therefore, we must strive to always show appreciation for them, and never take them for granted.