Megan Verchereau and Jensine Dorian Final

George: What do you think the meaning of family is?
Montag: I think that family means there is a place for you for you to turn and someone for you to talk to. Families are able to accept each other no matter who they are. What do you think?
George: I agree. I think that for a family, you don’t have to be born into it to be apart of it.
Montag: Exactly. My ex-wife and I were strangers living in the same house. She may have technically been family but there are others I could consider family before I considered her.
George: Would you talk to each other?
Montag: No, we wouldn’t. I never felt like we were family when we were together. I had this friend though. He is the one person I would consider part of my family.
George: Why is that?
Montag: Because I could talk and confide in him. Though I was in trouble he stuck with me, which is important. True friends help you when everyone else turns their back.
George: That is a rare quality to find in people these days. Everyone wants to have someone that they are able to rely on.
Willy: I think that families are a great support system but they can also set you back.
George: What do you mean?
Willy: Well, my family fought so much and my kids weren't motivated to do anything. I still had to take care of them when they were 30. All these expectations I had for them that they never achieved put a lot of stress on me. I feel that because of my children, I wasn't able to achieve my own goals.
Montag: I know what you mean Willy. I tried to tell my wife everything about my life and she did not care; she was the reason I got caught having books. I wanted to tell her about my life and expected that she would keep my secrets but I did not get the respect that I gave her. She betrayed me.
George: I have betrayed my best friend. You two do not understand what it is like to be on the other end of the relationship. It is not easy to betray someone you love; the one person who has always been there for you.
Willy: I do understand that feeling. I betrayed my wife by having an affair.
George: Sometimes people do stupid things to the ones they love most. In some cases, like my own, you think you are helping the person but you only end up hurting yourself.
Montag: Why do people hurt their families? Families are supposed to be the people you rely on. If you cannot count on your family, whom can you count on? I have been hurt by the things my wife has done to me and I cannot imagine doing them to someone else.
Willy: It may come off as if we are mean people; my own opinion is that I hurt her because I know she will forgive me. It is not right that we have done these things and we realize that now but what’s done is done.
George: I will forever regret that I have killed the only person that has been there for me all along. Lennie cared about me and would do anything for me. I know that he was my only family.
Willy: We can all say that we have made mistakes. Family does not always turn out the way you want it to. We all have our struggles but we know there are other people to count on besides blood related people.
Montag: Faber was my family; the person who understood what I was doing and would listen to me and go along with my plan even if it seemed unrealistic.
George: Lennie was that person to me. Although not blood related he cared about me more than anyone in the world. He would not let me get hurt and would also take the time to see what I felt about situations.
Montag: We have all made mistakes but we all know there is someone we can turn to in our times of need. Most of us can say that the people we turn to are not the people that we are technically related to. That is alright though because as we have learned, blood relations does not measure the amount of love you have for someone.
George: I am closer to Lennie than anyone else and he was not my relative. Family is based on love and who you can turn to in a time of need.
Montag: Yeah, I could clearly not turn to my wife in a time of need. I turned to someone who was a stranger at the time but he became the only one I could confide in.
Willy: Family can really be a pain but you know they are there for you; I mean the family that you choose not the family you are assigned to.
George: Well, we can all say that without family we would be nowhere. Our lives would be completely different, whether good or bad. We have gone through a lot and it is not always easy but these are the people we love. They have sacrificed a lot for us just as we have for them.
Willy: Yeah we do not really take into consideration everything they have done for us. They have given up their lives for us and have made us who we are. We should not want to change anything that we are and they are a part of us.
Montag: I have defiantly learned that I am not the only one who was stressed out about family. My wife was in danger with me and instead of sticking with me she bolted. I can not blame her; it just was not the ideal situation.
George: Yup, I treated Lennie like crap. He may have been frustrating but I can not imagine being treated the way I treated him. He put up with a lot from me because he loved me and knew I loved him. That is why it is hard to take in what I have done to him. My only family is gone. I have nobody to turn to anymore, and that sucks. I will never get another friend like Lennie.
Willy: We all have to learn to cherish the ones we love; our family.
Montag: I think that no matter blood relations, family will always be there.
George: I agree. Family might get angry at you but there is no way they will block you out of your life forever. The fights you have with them can be solved, the fights you have with friends may not always be solved. That is how it becomes clear who is who. Friends can always leave you. As I have to now. Bye.
Willy: Goodbye.