What's the point of family?

About 3 months ago I was offered a couple of internships in order to get myself experience before ever heading into the workforce. Two of the internships had come from my dream company, IMG, and one was located in Florida and the other in Cleveland, Ohio. The other internship I was offered came from Standard Textile Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.

It seemed like an obvious choice at the time because the company I had always dreamed of had offered me a position and it was right in my backyard, about 20 minutes from my house in Cleveland. I was almost positive that would be my choice, and I certainly was not going down to Florida seeing as the company would not provide me with housing, nor would they be paying me while I interned.

The last internship was a sales position for a company I had never heard of, yet the found me and asked me to interview with them. After a series of interviews, all of which I really enjoyed and was treated like a Prince at, I was offered the position.

So here I was faced with a decision, to stay in Cleveland and take a position with my dream company, where they wouldn't be paying me, or head down to Cincinnati to work for the company that had treated me like I was one of their own.

The problem with the Cincinnati one was pretty much the same as the Florida offer, I needed to find housing (however, they were paying me in Cincinnati). Luckily for me I have family in Cincy. My cousin Gabrielle and her husband of 5 years Carlo along with their two children Nico (4) and Roma (2).

When I had come down to interview with Standard on site, I sat down with Gabe to ask about the possibility of living with her for the summer. She said yes without hesitation, partially because I am sure she was put on the spot, and also excited at the thought of it.

I knew that it would be an imposition to them seeing as they had a family, even though they had an extra bedroom. I mean, it seems like a fun and great idea on paper, but bringing in someone knew to an established family always throws a curveball. So, I assumed I would just await the decision from Standard to see if I even had to worry about heading down there. And, as I said, I was offered the position and was leaning toward their company for a handful of reasons. When I called Gabe to tell her about the good news, I had to also ask about living with her family. She told me she would talk it over with her husband and make sure it was all ok. Within a week I was given a call and they both congratulated me and invited me to come down.

They saw no problem with me coming down. They were so excited and so welcoming. I, too, was extremely excited to spend ample time with family members I rarely got to see, so Cincinnati it was!

Now that I am down here I realize how incredible a family is. The fact that they would take on the burden of a new housemate just to let me seize this opportunity is unbelieveable in my eyes. Furthermore, in my time down here I have been so comfortable spending time with them and getting along. I try my best to contribute to the house to let them know how much I appreciate it. Carlo has taught me many lessons about work and life and how to approach challenges so that has been amazing. But my time spent with Gabe has been even more rewarding. Her and I get along very well and I have gotten to know her much better. She finally has somebody that she can talk to about our family, and I finally get to know my big cousin who I had never really known before. I am so grateful for people like this in my life and so blessed to have a family like I do.