All Growing Up

This is me and my cousin Gabby; I mean, Gabe (ever since he went to university, he's been known as Gabe... but to the family, he will always be Gabby). He just recently finished taking a solo backpacking trip around Europe, and I was able to meet him the day before he flew back to the United States. I also met up with him when he started his trip but decided to write about it only now. The background is Piccadilly Circus in London.

It's nice to grow up with cousins. However, when we are all young and growing up, it can be hard sometimes to bond with them, especially when they live far away in another country. Meetings ever other year can be ackward as relationships are rebuilt and common topics are hard to come by. It also doesn't help that our parents herd us all into one room and expect us to instantly bond together. There is an instant pressure that can be more detrimental than anything else. And by the time we start talking and getting comfortable with each other, it is time to part ways again.

But as we mature, those invisible walls slowly crumble. As we become more aware of the world around us, we realize that we have more in common than we originally thought. This is incredibly apparent after we all graduate from school. All of a sudden, we are all on a level playing field... not in high school or college, but out in the real world.

It was a cool thing to have a beer with Gabby. I saw him not just as a cousin, but a friend. Someone to share travel tips with and to trade adventure stories. All of a sudden, we weren't kids, we were adults having good conversation. Now I know why it is so easy for my titos and titas to talk to each other even after years of not seeing each other.

The barriers have been broken; we are all equal in each others eyes.

Life is Beautiful!