My Divorced Parents

Growing up it was just me and my parents that I lived with. I was born an only child to Rob and Linda Crossett. My parents were nearly thirty-six when I was born, so I do have what would be considered “older parents”. My parents had an enormous effect on my beliefs, morals, clothing choices, finances, sports, and grades in school. Without their guidance I would not be the person I am today. In every family including my own there are different roles, rules, boundaries, cohesion, and degree of flexibility that is followed. Most families fall into different categories in each of these sections that describe how they behave. First, let us look at roles that each member of a family origin may play.
In a family, each person must fulfill a certain

In my family I would consider myself to be in the organized role and the responsible role. The fact that I am an only child is a driving force behind my motivation to be responsible and organized. My parents were never the type to clean up after me or remind me about an important date, therefore, I became accustomed to developing independence at an early age. I was responsible for my schoolwork, my sports, and my money. I am also very organized because I was the one cleaning up the house every day when I would get home from school. That trait has translated into my life in college, because I have to keep my dorm room clean and organized or else I will get stressed out. My dad would be classified as the clown and the

In my family we do not handle conflict well. All three of us tend to bottle up anything that is bothering us until the smallest thing breaks our patience. This ends in a long discussion about all the things that have been bothering us, then the cycle starts over again. This conflict occurs a lot when I am trying to have what is my idea of fun. My parents are a lot older than me, therefore, fun to me is a little different than it is for them. Fun for my parents would be relaxing at home, and watching a movie, while having fun in my opinion is going out with friends to a concert or traveling to somewhere exciting. Me and my parents also have never been that affectionate. My mom would be considered a somewhat touchy person, but I am not a touchy person. Physical touch is harder for me to convey than for example, saying a word of affirmation to someone. I am not opposed to affection from my parents or loved ones, but I am usually not the one who initiates it. Perfection is the final rule that was mentioned, and in my family I feel that perfection is pushed for. My parents do not think that I will be anywhere near perfect, but they do expect a certain level of greatness from me. The pressure I am put under can be daunting at times, but I know they are just wanting the best for