All views shared in the Opinions section of the Chatterbox belong to their respective authors, and may not represent the views of the publication as a whole.

My personality, as it stands, is a reflection of the multiple cliches I have grown up hearing on repeat from both my parents and grandparents. However, no cliche has struck home in my character so much as one backhanded quote from my mom after I incessantly complained about something as petty as the size of my room.

“Smaller houses mean closer families.”

At first, the comment stuck out to me as nothing more than my mother’s half-hearted attempt to turn my pessimism into appreciation, an attempt that I was not buying into. Eventually, though, as each of my parents’ houses started becoming more like my homes, and as my parents started becoming some of my greatest supporters, I couldn’t help but attribute the closeness in our relationships to the closeness of our rooms.

For instance, my mother’s room, directly facing mine, called for her presence for both the beginning 

and end of my every day. This solidified her, in my mind, as not only someone who cared for me and helped me whenever I asked but also as someone who was there to help when I didn’t. With the reality of your living situation being you are almost always surrounded by family members, communication is both inevitable and crucial.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ research on successful families, found that “researchers characterize the communication patterns of strong families as clear, open and frequent. Family members talk to each other often, and when they do, they are honest and open with each other.”  

This insight has allowed me, not only to be appreciative and fully grateful for what I have but also to see money and all the things that come with it as a tool for the best future rather than the end goal. However, this certainly doesn’t mean you should be ashamed of working hard to make money and be successful.

Whether you’re part of a family that shops exclusively at the Fresh Market where cashews are sold by the pound or a family that buys its cashews by the carton labeled “Great Value”, they’re just cashews. And that’s the point I’m trying to get across. 

A home should serve as a place for you to live and be comfortable, alongside the people who will be a part of your life the most. An important part of this to note is not, by any means, that you can’t be close with your family in a big home, or that you have to compromise the house of your dreams just to be happy. Rather, it’s important to appreciate the benefits of the little aspects of your life and to recognize how money should contribute to your family’s closeness rather than its division.