The Chosen Family

We are taught from early age to express ourselves. Through new words, hand gestures, and sometimes drawings. We discover ourselves and the world around us through the learnings of our parents and the environment around us. We show the adults in our lives who we are before we even know. We develop a personality, an identity, a reputation. We make friends. We change friends. In the best circumstances, we believe that we belong to a community.

We learn about ourselves in those contexts. Each group comes with an oft unspoken social code about what is acceptable: what kind of jokes you can make, what sort of touch or play is okay, which dreams you can share. The parts of us that don’t fit get relegated to a dark corner inside of us. Most of us don’t learn for years what’s in that corner. We have a sense of it. But we don’t dare investigate.

Dr. Esther Perel witnessed and studied many powerful examples of human connection. But there is one that she returned to from time and time to illustrate why friendship is just as important as romantic partnership or familial ties. We believe friendships can be even more important than a romantic partner simply because we can’t load major pressure on one person, we are stronger in unity including the romantic partner.
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Whys Woman,
Chosen Family