Life like holy water

I come from a big family, and I'm one of the youngest. Growing up, I was always protected and looked after. My parents and siblings are my people, my ride or die. We're a pack, like wolves, and we move together. But I was always the one with international dreams, the one who looked past the horizon. Moving to London changed everything, including my role. For the first time, I wasn't the little one being looked after. I was the one looking after others. Along the way, a few friends started calling me Mama G, and the name stuck. It still makes me smile. To my blood family, I became the lone wolf, the one who left the pack to chase her dream. But in London, I found a new kind of pack. This is where I truly became an adult. I had my first real job, my first flat, and somehow a whole circle of friends I mothered without planning to. That's when I understood what people mean when they say the friends you choose eventually become your family. I may have left my pack, but I found another one.