Growing up as a kid, I was very happy. My life was a very typical American upbringing; which is in no way bad in my opinion. I think about all the kids out there who have abusive parents or are bullied mercilessly at school and I realize, "Yes, life growing up for me might have been boring, but I grew up safe and well." Much of that I attribute to my parents, the two people who really guided me and took care of me well. Nowadays, they can be a little annoying to deal with sometimes, but I still love being with them when I get the chance.
But, there was one little hiccup in my nice normal childhood. It was always my claustrophobia. I had a hard time understanding it as a kid and when I told my friends about it, all I'd say is, "I just don't like closed spaces." But as I grew up, I understood that it was more than that. Currently I've been able to rein it in, so that I can at least ride the elevator.
But now that I have grown and left the house I live in my own place, with my new family, my roommates. At first, when I moved in, I thought it was merel going to be me living with just a few of my friends. But as I've come to live with them, I've found that they have become more like another family to me. It's more than getting along with them, I see them when they don't have their social shields up, when they are purely themselves.