It truly is amazing how some of your own family members can be the ones that aim to bring you down.

Unfortunately, I’ve experienced this tragedy practically my entire life with certain people in my family.

I guess it really only got worse when I came out of the closet.

These people thrive to make sure that my parents, my siblings and I fail at everything in life. They say, embellish and twist things to cause complete turmoil in my family.

Why do they do this? That is a question I’ve been asking myself for practically my entire life. It is almost like they are jealous of anything and everything.

I have learned as I have gotten older to stay out of the constant drama that these malicious individuals cause, but when I find out that my name is being dragged in the mud, I cannot help but get upset and react.

All my life I have been a people pleaser. I aim to make sure everyone is happy and that there is no trouble in the world. No matter how hard I try, it seems that I cannot escape it.

The evil things my family members have accused me of and said about me are just totally unforgivable.

I have heard everything from the fact that my recovery is staged and completely made up (this is completely false), that I wear women’s clothing and flaunt my sexuality (that is not true either) and that I am the reason the family is like this.

I am here to tell everyone that what these people say about me is completely false and ridiculous.

I really contemplated writing on this topic because it is a family matter, but I realized there is a lesson learned in this situation.

Just because people are related to you does not mean that they will always have your back. It is a sad truth that I have learned to accept.

I am completely disgusted by the way that people think they can talk to others and treat them.

Families are supposed to stick together. They are not supposed to break each other.

I have realized that I can only move forward and no longer allow anyone involved in this back into my life.

Be wary of who you consider family because you can feel completely happy and have no idea that these people have a dagger in your back digging deeper and deeper into your soul.

Andrew Paisley is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-2812 or at abpaisley@eiu.edu.