What does family mean to you?

“It is the people who infiltrate your home, a sentiment, and a feeling of intense belonging. It is who you hate and love at the same time. It is, for me, personally, a safety net. Though, the older I get, the weaker the net gets.” – Rasul, writer“Family is friendship, anger, my dearness, isolation, love and year around relation. So for me its an institution where all of your emotions remain under one name, neither only positive nor only negative! Rather its a burst of expressions.” – Niloy Farhana, doctor and beauty blogger“Family to me is when people sing together” – Armeen Musa, singer“Family to me is not a group of people forcefully coexisting together due to the shackles of DNA. It is anyone who can accept me regardless of my flaws and encourage me to be a better version of myself while being my constant source of support. Family is someone who will drag me out when I want to sulk on my own and get me a piping hot plate of kacchi.” - Sohani Shahid, social media content creator“Family to me is comfort. It’s people who support you through the hurdles, doesn’t matter what the situation is. It doesn’t have anything to do with blood. It’s the safety of knowing that you will be forgiven and always have a shoulder to lean on. It’s the kind of strength you don’t always see around you but is subtly there. Family is what you can always fall back on.” – Maleena Gomez, artist “A group comprised of both the worst and best of what humanity has to offer...depending on the WiFi connection, of course.” – Rubaiyat Kabir, journalist "I think family means to look out for everyone's best interest and accept our parents or children the way they are even if they're not how we wanted them to be." – Tausif, entrepreneur“During my internship, I was walking home on my own one night. Suddenly, I saw some people trying to encircle me. They were goons who sell medicine at triple the price. I was scared but I started screaming. They were about to hit me but a couple appeared and helped me. The goons fled and I discovered the couple were related to my patients. In those days, many of them used to offer me food when I was on duty and exhausted. Those people were my family, even though I didn't know them. They protected me and I was ready to fight for them.” – Tuli Sangita, doctor“Family is the non-judgmental bond of love, trust and friendship that I share with people.” - Sabiha Ambareen Haque, architect“To me, my mother is my family. I’ve never had siblings and never had a father, and I’ve never wanted anything else either. She is able to be it all at once and so much more.” - Arefin, student“Family is such a simple word that holds so much importance. It means love, security, stability, strength, responsibility; even with our differences, difficulties, disputes, arguments, (maybe even a bit of hatred and dislike, here and there) we stick to each other, such is the bond.” – Fatema Kabir, hospitality manager“Family to me is a giant tree that provides safe shade, no matter what the situation is. It will hold you tight when you need it, and leave you to achieve what you deserve. Family is a place where you have people who love you for who you are, your success is theirs and your failures too. When I am hurt, I close my eyes and think of some people. They’re my family, my little fairy world that truly exists in real life.” – Maria Rahman Brishty, PhD researcher“I think family to me is a magical place, where eventually all those strings, old or new, happy or hurtful, just fall into, maybe because it can absorb anything you dunk.” - Zeyran Mehrnush Juhie, aeronautical engineer