I can see how I am different. I can see how I am not a conforming person. I view relationships in an unusual way. I view friendships like family. Maybe this is learned. I view love and friendship in the same basic category. All three, love, friendship and family, have an underlying quality which links them. Apparently this is something of a taboo idea. It is at least almost completely unspoken. People put up huge barriers between these three sentiments.

Another way of saying it is that there are different kinds of families. Families can spring up from various sources. The idea of family is transferable. I could say the same thing about love and friendship, but for me, family is the purest concept of the three, so I can use it best.

originally published on 6/13/07