What does it mean to have a “modern family”? How much of what we see on TV is the reality of the different living situations in our community? Senior Noah Parker, junior Mansuda Arora and sophomore Emily Olson shed light on their experiences living with host families—host families with a child that is a close friend and a classmate.

On the surface, living with one of your best friends seems like a dream come true. Junior Mansuda Arora has been living with fellow junior Sophia Harrison since the beginning of second semester, and sees many benefits in making her home with the Harrisons. “I like the support that is offered when I need it… I’m so grateful for them taking me in and helping me out,” Arora said. Arora lives with a host family because of her parents’ work situation. Both her parents are professors, and their jobs have taken them to many places around the world—including Abu Dhabi—resulting in Arora never being at a school for more than one or two years. “I needed stability, especially in my last two years of high school, so I made the decision to stay,” Arora said.

Similarly, senior Noah Parker has been living with fellow senior and cousin Cal Nicholson and his family for all of high school. “We chose this living option so I could get a better education. I didn’t want my parents to have to move or my little brother to have to change schools, so when my aunt and uncle extended the invitation to this living style it was the best option,” Parker said.

Sophomore Emily Olson also has experience living with a host family, and has found that it takes a toll on a friendship. Olson lived with fellow sophomore and close friend Willa Grinsfelder and her family. “I lived with her and her family for about nine months, and when I left, we gave each other space, just because we had seen so much of each other already. We don’t talk or see each other as much now,” Olson said.

Parker also experiences a bit of an overdose when it comes to his house mate, classmate and teammate: “When we were younger we would play on sports teams together in the summer, and now we have a lot of the same friends, and are on the hockey and golf team together. So we spend a lot of time together,” Parker said.

All in all, living with another family is a life-changing experience. While there are subtle benefits, such as those stated by Arora: “I feel like I’ve gotten closer with my parents as a result because I have to tell them everything so they can keep up with my life. I will drop everything when they come to visit,” or more obvious ones such as those stated by Olson: “I loved the food that they had! It was always really good and new to me. I also really like the fact that they live a lot closer to school, so I got to sleep in longer,” there are also downsides. “It’s hard finding the balance between independence and dependence because I’m not a “member of the family” but I’m still treated like one. Also, I miss my parents a lot and I miss the comfort of the type of home environment I’m used to,” Arora said.

Parker and Olson share similar feelings. “I would say I’m slightly disadvantaged for hanging out with friends on weekends because my time to see my parents is on the weekends, which other people don’t have to factor into their decisions for planning,” Parker said. Olson continues, “It got harder for me to keep in touch with my sister and my mom, and I would only get to see my mom about twice a week.”

The struggles and benefits of living with a friend’s family are very familiar to students in our community. Although it is easy to feel disadvantaged, this living style is one of many positive sides.“The best part is just getting together at the end of the day and just venting and laughing and hanging out together. It’s really nice to have a good friend who I am comfortable enough with that I can live with her,” Arora said.

“There’s always something going on. Somebody always has someone over, or Cal or [sophomore] David [Nicholson] will want to go out and do something or play a game,” Parker said. “[My host family] was so supportive and helpful throughout everything. They treated me like I was part of the family, and not just a guest staying for a while,” Olson said.