“Family” is not just blood ties, but it is about the people who surround you, who’ll care and support you through the good and bad. If I were able to control the color guard schedule, I would make the times different so then every week I can have time with my “family.” By “family,” I mean the people around me that are really close through connection. After joining FVRR, or color guard, I can’t do fun things with the people I consider “family” anymore. To do everyday fun things like hanging out with friends on a Saturday, going out with family because I go home too late now, and most of all just staying in, together. “Lost and Found” talks about how living isn’t hard, where all you need is some food, shelter, and a reason to survive. My reason is being with “my family.” Being able to form connections with the people around me. The possibility of having a stranger become more than a lifelong friend, someone that feels like family always puts a smile on my face. I love hanging out with my friends in color guard, though it just isn’t the same as being with “family.” Being with “family” and having them being the one true people who understand me and are there to support me is why I want to continue to have a bond with “family”

Being able to be with “family”, even if only for a second, would be something I would want to do. Like in “Scavengers”, the astronauts are counting down the days they’ve been there to keep track of time and how long they’ve been apart from their family. Although I am not separated from my “family” like in Scavengers it feels as if I am because I cannot hang out and be with them. It’s always homework or school getting in the way.  Maybe there’s a way to manage my time?

Time management is something that I’ve had difficulty with and due to that I often find myself struggling with balancing school life and home life. Managing my time better can help give me more free time so I don’t have to rush to get work done and more time I can spend with my family. Not using my phone while doing homework and using my chromebook more so I can’t get off task with my laptop are some solutions to helping me get my homework done faster. Also taking short breaks with family, maybe a quick card game like 13 or a game of speed, this will help me refresh so that I don’t get burnt out and give time to hanging with my family. Also saying no to other people so my time is not all spent on others but is spent with the people I care about and the people who care about me. “My Family.”

The Mojave Phone Booth was a great way to have a connection with family and friends because although the people who lived there were out in the desert, those people were still able to contact those they cared about. Once that was taken away from them due to a persons’ recklessness. Although the Mojave Phone Booth was taken away from the people of the desert, it was still able to find its way to connect much like what I would like to do with me and my “family.” This is the kind of connection I want to form with my “family,” because even if we are worlds apart I still want them to be the closest people. The phone booth was truly amazing because it was that one thing that connected everyone across the world together. This is something that is common with a family where they find ways to connect with each other all over the world and keep that connection for years. Being able to implement those ideas to continue the connection between my family is what keeps me close to them and helps me stay motivated because I can trust that whenever I am in need or feel stressed, I know that my “family” has got my back. Although color guard is fun and the people there could possibly become “family,” it just isn’t the same as the people who were already considered “family.” Because even when people pass, the legacy people leave is through the connections they have with others. So making bonds and connections with others is the only true way to live. And that is why family is so important to me and being able to spend time with them.